New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(07:17 / 1817
GMT)-----------------------
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,558.40 -48.20 NZSX 50 3,601.78
+90.97
DJIA 12,348.21 -28.77 Nikkei 13,635.40
+12.84
NASDAQ #N/A DRP+#N/A DR FTSE 5,946.60
+159.00
S&P 500 #N/A DRP+#N/A DR Hang Seng 24,148.43
-389.18
SPI 200 Fut 5,568.00 -10.00 CRB Index 384.23
-0.16
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 93.590 -0.005 US 10 YR Bond 3.765
+0.000
NZ 10 YR Bond 6.980 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond 4.583
+0.000
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.9127 0.9133 NZD US$ 0.7936
0.7938
EUR US$ 1.4652 1.4680 Yen US$ 108.18
107.84
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 903.25 Silver (Lon) 17.010

Gold (NY) 902.20 Light Crude 96.12
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Overnight market action. An updated report will be sent after
the close of New York markets.

EQUITIES

NEW YORK - The Dow and Nasdaq slipped on Friday on concerns
about consumer spending after an index of consumer sentiment
fell to a 16-year low and retailer Best Buy (BBY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) warned that
shopper traffic dropped off after the holidays.

The S&P 500, however, managed a small gain thanks largely
to a rally in food stocks on news that Warren Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway had taken a stake in Kraft Foods (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) ,
and as Campbell Soup (CPB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and H.J. Heinz (HNZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) gave
reassuring profit outlooks for the year. All three companies
gained more than 5 percent.

Best Buy, the No. 1 electronics retailer, dragged down
other retail stocks on Friday with its assessment of slack
post-holiday demand. Best Buy shares dropped 2.5 percent, while
rivals Circuit City (CC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and RadioShack also fell.

Following on the heels of the Best Buy warning, a
Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment sent
a shiver through the market as it dropped in February to a
level associated with past recessions. Other data showing
softness in manufacturing in New York state and worries about
the stability of bond insurers added to the gloomy mood. For
details, see [ID:nN15565559].

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 28.77
points, or 0.23 percent, at 12,348.21. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX was up 1.13 points, or 0.08 percent, at
1,349.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 10.74
points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,321.80.

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LONDON - Britain's leading shares gained nearly 3 percent
to close near the day's highs on Monday, led by banks on hopes
of higher dividends and after the government decided to
nationalise stricken lender Northern Rock NRK.L.

The FTSE 100 climbed 159.0 points, or 2.8 percent, to
5,946.6 to reverse a 1.6 percent fall in the previous session.
The blue-chip index is down almost 8 percent for the year to
date.

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TOKYO - Japanese stocks were nearly flat on Monday as the
market ran out of steam in late trade, with gains in JFE
Holdings (5411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other steelmakers offset by falls in
insurers on concerns over widening subprime losses.

Shares in Aioi Insurance Co (8761.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 6.8 percent after
the Yomiuri newspaper said its subprime-related losses were now
expected to balloon to more than 80 billion yen in the current
business year to March [ID:nT338705].

The standout for the day was Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research), which
jumped after a company source told Reuters at the weekend that
it planned to give up on its HD DVD format for high-definition
video, leaving the field to Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rival Blu-ray
system. [ID:nT345933] Market players generally welcomed the
move, sending Toshiba shares up by more than 6 percent at one
point.

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended up 0.09 percent
at 13,635.40 after earlier rising more than 1 percent. The
broader TOPIX index was down 0.1 percent after also
gaining more than 1 percent.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

LONDON - The dollar recovered in trade thinned by a U.S.
market holiday on Monday, as investors locked in profits
following the currency's worst weekly performance of the year
so far.

A series of bleak U.S. economic reports last Friday,
including one showing consumer sentiment hitting a 16-year
low,
had rekindled worries about a U.S. recession and reinforced
expectations for more hefty interest rate cuts.

By 1449 GMT, the dollar was up 0.3 percent against a basket
of major currencies .DXY at 76.303, after falling 0.74
percent last week in its worst weekly performance since
December.

The euro edged down 0.3 percent against the dollar to
$1.4635 <EUR=> but held within reach of a two-week peak of
around $1.4710 set on Friday.

The greenback was 0.4 percent firmer at 108.17 yen <JPY=>.

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TREASURIES

NEW YORK - Market closed for public holiday.

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COMMODITIES

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GOLD

NEW YORK - Platinum set a record high for the 13th straight
session on Monday on lingering power problems in top producer
South Africa that have hit mining and widened the gap between
demand and supply.

The metal, mainly used in autocatalysts and jewellery, has
jumped 22 percent this month, 38 percent so far in 2008 and
nearly 75 percent in the past 12 months on supply problems in
South Africa, which produces 80 percent of global platinum.

Spot platinum <XPT=> surged nearly 3 percent to a high of
$2,107 an ounce and was quoted at $2,105/2,115 at 1556 GMT,
against $2,050/2,055 in New York late on Friday.

Gold <XAU=> rose to a high of $909.25 before falling to
$903.40/904.30 an ounce, against $903.00/903.80 in New York.
U.S. April gold futures GCJ8 gained $1 an ounce to $907.10.

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BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper prices were buoyed on Monday by
expectations of stronger demand from Chinese consumers, supply
worries and falling stocks, while power shortages in China and
South Africa helped aluminium.

Copper MCU3 for delivery in three months on the London
Metal Exchange jumped 3.3 percent at one point to a four-month
high at $7,990 per tonne.

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OIL

NEW YORK - Oil advanced for a fourth day on Monday,
supported by an escalating row between OPEC member Venezuela
and oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

The quarrel between Venezuela and Exxon has helped oil
bounce back from this year's low of $86.11, but worries about a
slowdown in top oil consumer the United States could prevent a
return to record highs of $100 a barrel struck in early
January.

U.S. crude CLc1 was up 80 cents at $96.30 a barrel by
1515 GMT. On Friday it had closed 4 cents higher at $95.50,
after touching a one-month high of $96.67.

London Brent crude LCOc1 was up 70 cents at $95.33.

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