New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(07:13 / 1813
GMT)-----------------------
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,180.40 -83.60 NZSX 50 3,547.75
-10.51
DJIA 11,797.79 -95.90 Nikkei 12,532.13
-250.67
NASDAQ 2,181.87 -30.62 FTSE 5,629.10
-70.80
S&P 500 1,278.78 -14.59 Hang Seng 22,501.33
+203.72
SPI 200 Fut 5,142.00 -67.00 CRB Index 410.93
-0.72
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 93.990 +0.085 US 10 YR Bond 3.434
-0.107
NZ 10 YR Bond 6.715 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond 4.430
-0.120
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.9165 0.9260 NZD US$ 0.7890
0.7919
EUR US$ 1.5346 1.5391 Yen US$ 101.75
101.93
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 969.25 Silver (Lon) 19.570

Gold (NY) 972.60 Light Crude 108.01
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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 fell on Monday, taking the broader
market close to its 2008 lows, as investors sold off financial
shares on fears of more credit losses, while concerns that the
United States may already be in recession hit shares of big
manufacturers.

The sell-off in financial stocks picked up speed amid
rumors that a Wall Street firm was facing liquidity concerns,
according to traders.

Bear Stearns BSC.N tumbled more than 13 percent to $60.34
but the stock pared losses slightly after Ace Greenberg,
chairman of the executive committee of Bear Stearns, said
liquidity rumors were "totally ridiculous."

Even so, financials remained among the top drags, with
shares of Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No 2 U.S. bank,
down 3.4 percent at $35.51 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares of Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. bank by assets,
slid 4.2 percent to $20.04.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 44.20 points,
or 0.37 percent, to 11,849.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
.SPX shed 8.33 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,285.04. The
Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slid 18.38 points, or 0.83
percent, to 2,194.11.

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LONDON - Britain's leading share index shed 1.2 percent on
Monday, as miners and banks tumbled on investors' fears that an
intensifying credit crisis would unleash more losses at banks
and threaten world growth.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended down 70.8 points at 5,629.1, its
lowest close since the end of January, as shares slid across
Europe and on Wall Street.

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TOKYO - Growing fears about whether the U.S. economy is in
recession drove Japan's benchmark Nikkei to its lowest close in
2-½ years on Monday as exporters tumbled, with Sony Corp
(6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) finishing at its lowest in over two years.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped after company president
Katsuaki Watanabe said on Friday that North American demand for
this year looks weaker than the company estimated late last
year, with fellow carmaker Nissan Motor Corp (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) also
sliding.

Bleak U.S. jobs data even overpowered surprisingly positive
Japanese machinery orders figures, leading both the Nikkei and
TOPIX down more than 2 percent in afternoon trade as investors
dumped shares.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 finished down 250.67 points or
2 percent at 12,532.13, its lowest since Sept. 1, 2005. The
broader TOPIX closed down 1.9 percent at 1,224.39.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The dollar tumbled against the yen on Monday as
fears of a U.S. recession hit stock prices but steadied versus
the euro after Europe's top monetary official said he was
worried about recent exchange rate moves.

A report on Friday showing the U.S. economy unexpectedly
shed 63,000 jobs last month extended a dollar swoon that began
in late February, taking it to record lows against the euro and
Swiss franc and an eight-year trough versus the yen.

Dollar weakness against the Japanese currency continued on
Monday as risk aversion returned, sending Japan's benchmark
Nikkei stock index .N225 to its lowest level in 2-½ years.

The greenback hit a session low of 101.57 yen <JPY=>, just
shy of Friday's eight-year low around 101.40 yen, before edging
back to 101.90 yen, down 0.8 percent on the day.

The common currency briefly fell to $1.5314 <EUR=> before
regrouping to $1.5350, little changed on the day.

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TREASURIES

NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury debt prices jumped on Monday as
the persistent deterioration of credit conditions sparked talk
that a Wall Street firm could be running short on capital.

In particular, traders said Bear Stearns BSC.N was
rumored to be having liquidity troubles after Moody's
downgraded a swath of mortgage deals from Bear Stearns, with
another batch placed on review for possible downgrade. The
firm's CEO called the rumor "totally ridiculous."

U.S. interest rate swap spreads gapped wider on the
chatter, adding to a growing laundry list of troubles affecting
the financial sector.

As financial shares led the broader stock market lower,
benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> rose 22/32 for a yield of
3.46 percent, down eight basis points.

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COMMODITIES

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GOLD

NEW YORK - Gold futures retrace early losses due to record
crude oil prices but chart-based selling still pushes prices
lower by midday. COMEX gold futures for April delivery GCJ8
drop $1.10 to $973.10 an ounce by 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 GMT),
trading between $961.90 and $982.80. COMEX estimated gold
volume at 89,096 lots by 11:00 a.m. Spot gold <XAU=> was at
$971.55/972.25, down from New York's Friday late quote of
$972.60/973.40. The London afternoon gold fix was set at
$969.25 an ounce.

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BASE METALS

LONDON - Fears of a recession in the United States and
falling demand prompted investors to dump industrial metals on
Monday, sending copper to a two-week low.

The metal MCU3, used widely in the power and construction
industries touched $8,280, the lowest since February 26 and
closed at $8,310 per tonne, down from $8,545 on Friday.

Three-months aluminium MAL3, which have gained 35 percent
since the start of the year, closed at $3,138 a tonne from
$3,221 on Friday.

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OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures surged to a record above
$107 a barrel on Monday, bouncing off earlier lows as
speculators kept bullish momentum intact.

Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will need to cut
interest rates further, keeping pressure on the dollar, was
cited as attracting crude buying as an inflation hedge.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543
GMT), April crude CLJ8 was up $1.25, or 1.19 percent, at
$106.40 a barrel, trading from $104.08 to $107.44, eclipsing
Friday's $106.54 peak.

In London, April Brent crude LCOJ8 rose 60 cents, or 0.59
percent, to $102.98 a barrel, trading from $101.20 to $103.55.

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