New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(07:02 / 1802
GMT)-----------------------
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,502.90 +141.70 NZSX 50 3,592.79
+59.23
DJIA 12,643.37 -10.99 Nikkei 13,189.36
+532.94
NASDAQ 2,369.06 +6.31 FTSE 5,915.90
+63.30
S&P 500 1,372.72 +2.54 Hang Seng 23,137.46
+734.97
SPI 200 Fut 5,614.00 +51.00 CRB Index 390.02
+5.09
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 93.780 -0.035 US 10 YR Bond 3.602
+0.044
NZ 10 YR Bond 6.510 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond 4.380
-0.022
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.9136 0.9083 NZD US$ 0.7901
0.7854
EUR US$ 1.5673 1.5575 Yen US$ 102.43
102.08
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 890.00 Silver (Lon) 16.890

Gold (NY) 883.10 Light Crude 103.79

___________________________(April
2)____________________________
Overnight market action. An updated report will be sent after
the close of New York markets.

EQUITIES

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks edged up on Wednesday, supported for
the second straight day by the banking sector as investors
looked for bargains after recent massive write-downs fed
optimism that the worst of the credit morass may be over.

Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. bank by assets, gave
the second-biggest boost to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index
after being battered by the eight-month-long lending crisis.

Financial services company CIT Group Inc (CIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was among
the top percentage gainers on the New York Stock Exchange, only
nine days after the firm drew down $7.3 billion of credit lines
to stay afloat. The stock was up over 12 percent.

Major U.S. stock indexes dipped briefly at the open after
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a contraction in the
U.S. economy could occur in the first half of the year and a
recession was possible. However, bargain hunters swiftly moved
in, particularly with Bernanke expecting the Fed's 3 percentage
points of rate cuts since the crisis began to spark economic
growth in the second half of 2008.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 7.17 points,
or 0.06 percent, to 12,661.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
.SPX was up 4.59 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,374.77. The
Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 13.19 points, or 0.56
percent, at 2,376.23.

- - - -

LONDON - Britain's blue-chip index ended higher on
Wednesday, buoyed by mining and financial stocks as investors
hoped that an end to subprime-related losses was finally in
sight, though analysts remained sceptical.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE advanced 63.3 points, or 1.1 percent
at 5,915.9 to edge closer to the psychological 6,000 level and
notch a third successive session of gains.

A $19-billion write down by Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) in the
previous session raised hopes that banks were aggressively
cleaning up their books.

The positive mood among traders was further boosted by U.S.
stocks, which traded higher, recovering from Federal Reserve
comments that a U.S. recession was possible.

- - - -

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei stock average surged 4 percent to a
one-month peak on Wednesday as banks roared higher, with credit
fears easing after a capital boost by Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
and a write-down by Swiss Bank UBS AB <UBSN.VX).

Japan's top lender, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
(8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research), saw its greatest one-day gain since July 2004, while
No.2 bank Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) made its biggest
one-day gain since January.

Tokyo shares got an additional boost as Asian stocks
powered higher, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI up 4.4
percent, while the dollar's surge above 102 yen <JPY=> also
gave the Nikkei upward momentum.

The Nikkei .N225 closed up 4.2 percent at 13,189.36, its
first time above 13,000 for three weeks and its biggest daily
percentage gain since Feb. 14. The broader TOPIX closed
up 4.2 percent at 1,282.07.

- - - -

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The dollar rose against the yen on Wednesday,
following U.S. stocks higher, as investors bet that the worst
of the credit crisis may be over and grew more tolerant of
risk.

Battered bank stocks have been better perceived in the last
two days after Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) raised $4
billion of capital on Tuesday, quelling some speculation that
the investment bank may be in trouble. For more see
[ID:nN01215030].

Although congressional testimony by Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke caused some volatility initially, his
comments were largely taken as positive. While the U.S. economy
could face a mild recession in the first half of 2008, Bernanke
said growth should pick up as the impact of aggressive interest
rate cuts are felt.

Midway through the New York session, the U.S. currency was
up 0.9 percent at 102.76 yen <JPY=>, close to the day's high of
102.78 yen. The euro <EUR=> was little changed at $1.5613, well
off last month's record high around $1.5905, according to
electronic trading platform EBS.

- - - -

TREASURIES

NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury debt prices mostly fell on
Wednesday as investors interpreted testimony by Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke as hinting that the central bank may be
thinking of ending its round of interest rate cuts.

The weakness in prices was more pronounced on the short end
of the Treasury curve, which is more heavily influenced by
changes in interest-rate policy, and the yield-curve spread
narrowed to its flattest since early February.

While Bernanke told Congress's Joint Economic Committee
that the U.S. economy will not grow much in the first half of
2008 and that a recession is possible, he said monetary and
fiscal policies already in place should support a return to
growth.

Investors took his remarks as a possible signal that the
central bank may back away from further aggressive interest
rate cuts to see if recent stepped-up injections into the
banking system, along with ramped-up money market operations,
might work to free up lending between banks and stimulate the
economy.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> were trading
13/32 lower in price for a yield of 3.61 percent, compared with
3.56 percent late on Tuesday. Bond yields move inversely to
prices.

Two-year notes <US2YT=RR> were trading 8/32 lower in price
for a yield of 1.94 percent, the highest yield level since late
February, up from 1.80 percent late on Tuesday. The 30-year
bond <US30YT=RR>_rose 7/32 in price for a yield of 4.39
percent, down from 4.40 percent.

- - - -

COMMODITIES

- - - -

GOLD

NEW YORK - * Fed Chairman Bernanke's remarks about possible
U.S. recession boost buying for gold. [ID:nN02331396]

* Bargain hunting among physical buyers after the recent
price decline also cited.

* June gold GCM8 up $8 at $895.80 an ounce at 12:24 p.m.
(1624 GMT). Range $885.10 to $898.50.Estimated volume 96,500
lots by 10 a.m.

* Spot gold <XAU=> rises to $891.00/891.80, from late
Tuesday New York quote of $884.20/885.40. London afternoon fix
$890.

- - - -

BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper rose on Wednesday as global markets were
led higher on signs the worst of the credit crunch might be
ending, analysts and traders said.

Copper for three-months delivery MCU3 on the London Metal
Exchange, often seen as a key gauge of real economic activity,
closed at $8,515 per tonne, up $215 from Tuesday.

Aluminium MAL3 was $24 lower at $2,950/2,960 per tonne.
Lead MPB3 firmed by $95 to $2,870 while zinc MZN3 was up
$40 at $2,350. Tin MSN3 was up $50 at $20,100/20,105 and
nickel MNI3 was lower at $28,300 versus $29,300.

- - - -

OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures rose sharply but were
below session highs, lifted by a rally in gasoline futures,
with the latest inventory data showing a hefty drawdown in
gasoline stocks last week.

Crude was down earlier as the data showed a much
higher-than-expected inventory increase.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:10 a.m. EDT (1710
GMT), May crude oil CLK8 was up 71 cents or 0.7 percent at
$101.69 a barrel, trading from $98.84 to $102.18.

In London Wednesday, May Brent crude LCOK8 was up 45
cents or 0.45 percent at $100.62 a barrel, trading from $99.10
to $101.34.

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