New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(7:10 / 1810
GMT)----------------------- Stock Markets S&P/ASX 200
5,264.00 -171.50 NZSX 50 3,558.26 -45.58
DJIA 11,893.69 -146.70 Nikkei 12,782.80
-432.62
NASDAQ 2,212.49 -8.01 FTSE 5,699.90
-66.50
S&P 500 1,293.37 -10.97 Hang Seng 23,342.73
-841.40
SPI 200 Fut 5,176.00 -94.00 CRB Index 411.65
-3.63
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 93.965 +0.095 US 10 YR Bond 3.541
+0.000
NZ 10 YR Bond 6.740 -0.085 US 30 YR Bond 4.550
+0.000
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.9273 0.9324 NZD US$ 0.7947
0.7980
EUR US$ 1.5358 1.5422 Yen US$ 102.70
102.38
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 972.50 Silver (Lon) 20.220

Gold (NY) 972.60 Light Crude 105.31
----------------------------------------------------------------

Market action to U.S. close on Friday.

EQUITIES

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell on Friday to close at their
lowest level in 19 months after a report showed that employers
unexpectedly shed jobs at the steepest rate in nearly five
years, standing as confirmation for many investors that the
United States is in recession.

Another bout of troubling news from mortgage companies
hammered the market for a second day after Thornburg Mortgage
(TMA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a "jumbo" mortgage lender, said it failed to meet
creditors' demands for more upfront cash and noted that its
survival is at stake.

Before the opening bell, Wall Street got a shock when the
Labor Department reported that 63,000 nonfarm jobs were lost in
February -- in contrast to Wall Street economists' forecasts
that 25,000 positions would be added -- while the government
slashed in half the number of jobs added in December.

The data strongly hinted that U.S. demand for oil and
metals would wane, hurting commodity prices and pulling down
shares of energy and mining companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slid 146.70 points,
or 1.22 percent, to end at 11,893.69. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index .SPX fell 10.97 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,293.37 --
its lowest close since August 2006.

The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 8.01 points, or
0.36 percent, to close at 2,212.49.

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LONDON - Britain's leading shares ended 1.2 percent lower
on Friday, led by commodities, as an unexpected drop in U.S.
jobs data underlined worries over the global economy.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 66.5 points to 5,699.9, to its
lowest closing level in more than six weeks but recovering from
a session low of 5,655.7 as U.S. stocks pared losses on
short-covering towards the close of the British trading day.

The index fell sharply as data showed that U.S. employers
cut payrolls for a second straight month during February,
slashing 63,000 jobs for the biggest monthly job fall in nearly
five years, a government report showed. See [ID:nN06253619]

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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average fell 3.3 percent to a
six-week low on Friday, with investors dumping blue-chip
exporters such as Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) on a stronger yen
and fears of a U.S. recession, while silicon wafer maker Sumco
Corp (3436.T: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled more than 10 percent after predicting
weaker profits.

In a broad sell-off tracking sharp falls on Wall Street,
banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research) took a
beating after U.S. mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc
(TMA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it failed to meet a $28 million margin call, the
latest setback in the global credit crisis. [ID:nN06212186].

During the afternoon session, the Japanese government
nominated deputy central bank governor Toshiro Muto as the next
head of the Bank of Japan, raising the prospect of a showdown
with the opposition.

But the market mostly shrugged off the BOJ nomination,
including chances of a policy vacuum if agreement is not
reached before current governor Toshihiko Fukui retires on
March 19.

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended down 432.62
points at 12,782.80. The index fell 6 percent for the week.

The broader TOPIX index shed 3.1 percent to
1,247.77.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The dollar rebounded from record lows on Friday
as a Federal Reserve liquidity injection fueled some
speculation the central bank might hold off on cutting interest
rates aggressively even after a sharp contraction in U.S.
payrolls.

Profit-taking and short-covering also helped support the
dollar, traders said, after three days of successive sharp
gains in the euro, which brought the European currency to
historic peaks.

The Fed announced a series of term repurchase operations
totaling $100 billion to ease liquidity pressures in stressed
financial markets, overshadowing a Labor Department report
showing U.S. employers cut payrolls for a second month in
February.

After the February payrolls report the euro initially
surged to as high as $1.5459 <EUR=>, according to Reuters data.

The New York Board of Trade's dollar index, which tracks
the dollar's performance against the basket of currencies,
slumped to an all-time low of 72.462 .DXY. It later rebounded
to around 73.039.

- - - -

TREASURIES

NEW YORK - Benchmark U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on
Friday as fresh credit market turmoil and data showing the
economy shed jobs in February at the fastest rate in nearly
five years enhanced the allure of safe-haven government bonds.

Short-dated Treasuries came under a bit of pressure as the
Federal Reserve said it was increasing to a combined $100
billion the amount to be auctioned in its term auction facility
in March.

The Fed's effort to contain the damage to the economy from
the ongoing credit shakeout may ease strains in financial
markets, and it appeared to temper the most aggressive bets on
upcoming interest rate cuts.

However, it is unlikely to calm fears that the economy has
fallen into recession, which were heightened by the grim jobs
figures. For details see [ID:nN07310787]

The benchmark 10-year note <US10YT=RR> rose 10/32 in price,
which pushed the yield down to 3.55 percent from 3.59 percent
late on Thursday. The 10-year yield was marginally higher on
the week, which was marked by volatile trade.

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COMMODITIES

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GOLD

NEW YORK - Gold erased initial gains to finish lower on
Friday as funds sold bullion for liquidity, capping a volatile
week which saw gold make several runs toward $1,000 an ounce
but was met with heavy resistance each time.

Platinum and palladium contracts also pulled back sharply
on U.S. recession fears in a broad-based commodities sell-off.

Gold <XAU=> rose as high as $988 an ounce in morning trade
but was at $972.60/973.40 by New York's last quote at 2:15 p.m.
EST (1915 GMT), against $976.20/976.95 late in New York on
Thursday, when it hit a record high of $991.90.

- - - -

BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper prices worked off of their worst levels
Friday in the face of weak monthly U.S. employment data that
raised fears of recession in the United States and consequent
falling demand.

Lead fell 5 percent to a three-week low.

Copper for delivery in three months MCU3 on the London
Metal Exchange ended at $8,545 per tonne, up from an earlier
low of $8,451, but down from $8,560 at the close on Thursday
when the metal hit a record high of $8,820 a tonne.

- - - -

OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Friday after
climbing to yet another all-time record as the dollar rebounded
and Wall Street slipped on recession worries.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude CLJ8
settled at $105.15 a barrel, dropping 32 cents, or 0.3 percent.
It traded from $103.91 to $106.54, the highest level since the
exchange launched crude oil futures in 1983.

In London, April Brent crude LCOJ8 settled down 23 cents,
or 0.22 percent, at $102.38 a barrel, after trading from
$101.36 to a fresh intraday peak of $103.98.

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