---------------------------------------------------------------- Snapshot at: 07:25 / 1825 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,741.20 -18.46 NZSX 50
7,140.98 -37.24 DJIA
20,857.47 +1.74 Nikkei
19,318.58 +64.55 NASDAQ
5,844.28 +6.72 FTSE
7,314.96 -19.65 S&P 500
2,365.52 +2.54 Hang Seng
23,501.56 -280.71 SPI 200 Fut
5,759.00 +8.00 STI
3,118.84 -26.45 SSEC
3,216.58 -24.08 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.950 +0.009 US 10 YR Bond
2.583 +0.032 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.385 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
3.170 +0.025 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7511 0.7515 NZD US$
0.6897 0.6894 EUR US$
1.0587 1.0536 Yen US$
114.79 114.43 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,206.55
Silver (Lon)
17.01 Gold (NY)
1,207.50
Light Crude
48.96 TRJCRB Index
182.80 -2.25 ----------------------------------------------------------------
Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as gains in bank stocks were countered by the second day of losses in energy shares, a day before the crucial monthly jobs report that would bolster already sky-high odds of a rate hike next week.
At 12:44 p.m. ET (1744 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 2.65 points, or 0.01 percent, at 20,858.38, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 2.01 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,364.99 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 5.26 points, or 0.09 percent, at 5,842.81.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - Britain's top share index hit its lowest level in more than a week on Thursday, down for a sixth session in a row, as a disappointing set of results from grocer Morrisons MRW.L and a slump in miners outweighed a strong performance from insurance stocks.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE closed 0.3 percent lower after slipping to its lowest level since March 1.
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday, helped by a weaker yen as the dollar gained after a private jobs report cemented expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week.
The Nikkei .N225 gained 0.3 percent at 19,318.58. The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.3 percent to 1,554.68, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 .JPXNK400 also rose 0.3 percent, to 13,910.16.
For a full report, double click on .T
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, while the euro gained after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi suggested it was less necessary to prop up the market through ultra-loose monetary policy.
The euro EUR= rose above the $1.06 level during Draghi's remarks, reversing earlier selling that had brought it to a six-day low. It was last up 0.45 percent at $1.0588. The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback against the euro and five other major world currencies, hit a session low of 101.700 as Draghi spoke. It was last down 0.25 percent at 101.820.
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday with longer-dated yields hovering at their highest levels in about 11 weeks, in step with their German counterparts ahead of a $12 billion sale of 30-year U.S. government bonds.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR was up 3 basis points at 2.583 percent after touching 2.589 percent which was its highest level since Dec. 20, according to Reuters data. Two-year yield US2YT=RR , which is most sensitive to traders' view on Fed policy, was up nearly 2 basis points at 1.371 percent. It was a shade below Wednesday's 1.378 percent which was last seen in August 2009.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold sank to a five-week low on Thursday, with analysts expecting further losses as investors become increasingly certain that U.S. interest rates will rise this month.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3 percent to $1,203.50 an ounce by 1552 GMT, having dropped earlier to its weakest since Feb. 1 at $1,202.70. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 eased by 0.5 percent to $1,203.80.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper fell to a two-month low on Thursday, reflecting losses across the industrial metals and other assets as markets geared up for an expected hike in U.S. interest rates this month.
Three-month copper on the LME CMCU3 closed at $5,690, down 1.4 percent, having earlier touched its lowest since Jan. 10 at $5,652.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices slid 2 percent on Thursday, extending the previous session's dive that brought prices to the lowest levels this year, as record U.S. crude inventories fed doubts about whether OPEC-led supply cuts would reduce a global glut.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell $1.19 a barrel, or 2.2 percent, to $51.92 by 11:37 a.m. EST (1637 GMT). Its session low of $51.60 was its lowest since Dec. 1. On Wednesday, Brent fell $2.81 a barrel, or 5 percent, in its biggest daily price move this year. U.S. light crude CLc1 was down about 2.4 percent to $49.09 a barrel after reaching an intraday low of $48.79. On Wednesday, U.S. crude plummeted 5.4 percent.
For a full report, double click on O/R
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