New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(07:17 / 1817
GMT)-----------------------
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,542.10 -66.00 NZSX 50 3,545.77
-29.07
DJIA 12,506.72 +133.31 Nikkei 13,068.30
+46.34
NASDAQ 2,358.31 +38.27 FTSE 5,880.10
-29.90
S&P 500 1,362.47 +13.61 Hang Seng 22,921.67
+247.88
SPI 200 Fut 5,580.00 +27.00 CRB Index 376.96
+1.59
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 93.725 +0.000 US 10 YR Bond 3.683
+0.021
NZ 10 YR Bond 6.920 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond 4.487
+0.031
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.8938 0.9013 NZD US$ 0.7828
0.7876
EUR US$ 1.4581 1.4564 Yen US$ 108.25
107.12
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 899.00 Silver (Lon) 16.980

Gold (NY) 906.00 Light Crude 93.39
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Overnight market action. An updated report will be sent after
the close of New York markets.

EQUITIES

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a surprise
gain in January retail sales suggested consumer spending would
hold up and help the economy avert a recession.

The technology sector rose on stronger-than-expected
earnings from Applied Materials (AMAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the biggest producer
of chip-making equipment. Its shares rose 6.8 percent. The
semiconductor index rose 1.7 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 75.60
points, or 0.61 percent, at 12,449.01. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX was up 7.78 points, or 0.58 percent, at
1,356.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 28.49
points, or 1.23 percent, at 2,348.53.

Shares of General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), rose 1.5 percent to
$34.88 while Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) climbed 1.4 percent to
$81.69.

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LONDON - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.5 percent
on Wednesday, led by banks, commodity shares and Vodafone
(VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) as investors wary of the lingering credit turmoil
cashed in on the previous day's rally.

The FTSE 100 closed down 29.9 points at 5,880.1 in volatile
trade, underperforming Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's
CAC-40 .FCHI, after surging 3.5 percent in the previous
session.

Fuelling fears over the fallout of the credit crisis,
British specialist mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (BB.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
took a 94 million pound ($184 million) write-down on its
exposure to tarnished assets.

The mid-cap stock dived 23 percent, and soured sentiment
towards financial shares in general.

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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average edged up 0.4 percent on
Wednesday but gave up most of its earlier gains as investors
trimmed positions before upcoming Japanese and U.S. economic
data.

Shares of big banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
(8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research) retreated, offsetting a rise in exporters such as
Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research).

Fujifilm Holdings Corp (4901.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.5 percent after the
digital camera and medical equipment maker said it will spend
as much as 155 billion yen ($1.45 billion) to take control of
drug maker Toyama Chemical Co Ltd (4518.T: Quote, Profile, Research).

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 46.34 points to
13,068.30, while the broader TOPIX index dipped 0.1
percent to 1,285.35.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The dollar rose to a one-month high against the
yen on Wednesday after government data showed an unexpected
rise in U.S. retail sales last month, dampening views that the
U.S. economy is contracting.

The small gain in January retail sales bucked expectations
for a drop in monthly U.S. cash register receipts, but analysts
said the outlook for both the economy and the dollar remained
uncertain.

The dollar jumped against the yen after the data, rising to
a one-month high of 108.37 yen <JPY=> before easing to 108.15
yen, up 0.8 percent from late Tuesday.

The euro was 0.1 percent weaker at $1.4566 <EUR=> after
earlier hitting a session low at $1.4533. It rose 0.7 percent
to 157.61 yen <EURJPY=>.

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TREASURIES

NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury debt prices pared initial losses
to stand mixed on Wednesday as investors turned indecisive
about the prospects of the U.S. economy after a surprise pickup
in consumer spending in January.

Bonds initially fell on the sign of economic strength.
Safe-haven bids for Treasuries reemerged, however. as traders
focused on prolems in the financial sector, including a report
that the largest U.S. mortgage insurer MGIC (MTG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) had a $1.47
billion quarterly loss linked to housing market weakness. There
was also speculation of more funds suffering from bad subprime
investment, analysts said.

Earlier, traders were paring safe-haven bond positions in
response to the surprisingly strong reading on retail sales.
This briefly allayed fears that a slowing consumer sector will
push the United States into a recession.

The price of benchmark 10-year debt was flat at 98-21/32
after an early low of 98-3/32. The yield <US10YT=RR>, which
moves inversely with price, rose to 3.66 percent, little
changed from late on Tuesday.

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COMMODITIES

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GOLD

NEW YORK - New York gold futures dropped for a second
straight day on Wednesday, as chart-based weakness and a report
showing lower physical bullion consumption prompted funds to
liquidate positions.

A stronger dollar, lower energy prices and solid gains in
the equity markets also took some steam out of gold's recent
rally.

At 10:42 a.m. EST (1542 GMT), the gold contract for April
delivery at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange GCJ8 slipped $8.60 to $902.50 an ounce. It peaked at
$913.50.

Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $900.10/901.00, versus
Tuesday's New York close of $907.70/908.50. London bullion
dealers fixed the afternoon spot price at $899.00.

COMEX March silver SIH8 also dropped 18.0 cents or 1.1
percent to $17.07 an ounce, trading between $16.950 and
$17.250.

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BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper lost ground on Wednesday as Chinese traders
returning from holiday proved unwilling to buy at prices that
rose sharply in their absence, analysts and traders said.

Three-months futures on the London Metal Exchange MCU3,
often seen by investors as a key gauge of real economic
activity, closed at $7,780 per tonne, down $110 from Tuesday's
close, after falling as low as $7,651 per tonne.

Copper traded up to $7,890 on Tuesday, its highest level
since late October, boosted largely by falling inventories in
LME-monitored warehouses.

Zinc MZN3 also fell heavily on Wednesday, losing more
than 4 percent at some point, but ended the day at $2,415 per
tonne, down $70 from Tuesday's close.

Aluminium MAL3 gained $36 to $2,691 per tonne, while lead
was MPB3 $20 lower at $3,030 per tonne, nickel MNI3 was
down $100 at $28,000 per tonne and tin MSN3 was $100 higher
at $17,200.

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OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures were down Wednesday
morning on data showing domestic crude and gasoline stocks rose
last week, but losses were limited amid anxiety over the legal
battle between Venezuela and Exxon Mobil.

Traders said the crude and gasoline stock increases
appeared to have been factored in, but the Venezuela-Exxon
Mobil legal dispute was still playing out.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:10 a.m. EST (1610
GMT), March crude CLH8 was down 10 cents, or 0.1 percent at
$92.68 a barrel, trading from $91.90 to $93.42.

In London, March Brent crude LCOH8 was up 16 cents or 1,7
percent at $93.02 a barrel, The March Brent contract expires on
Thursday.

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