New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

-----------------------(07:03 / 1803
GMT)----------------------- Stock Markets S&P/ASX 200
5,867.40 +24.50 NZSX 50 3,711.73 +3.60 DJIA
12,671.58 -71.61 Nikkei 13,859.70 +362.54 NASDAQ
2,393.55 -19.81 FTSE 6,026.20 -3.00 S&P 500
1,385.52 -9.90 Hang Seng 24,123.58 +908.50 SPI 200 Fut
5,786.00 -56.00 CRB Index

367.90 +3.56 Bonds AU 10 YR Bond 93.780 -0.020 US 10
YR Bond 3.643 +0.046 NZ 10 YR Bond 6.890 +0.000 US 30
YR Bond 4.366
+0.053 Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST) AUD US$ 0.9083
0.9042 NZD US$ 0.7931 0.7916 EUR US$ 1.4837
1.4819 Yen US$ 106.72
106.79 Commodities Gold (Lon) 893.75 Silver
(Lon) 16.700 Gold (NY) 898.50 Light Crude

90.54
____________________________(Feb
5)_____________________-_______
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 as brokerages
downgraded financial companies on worry about a consumer-led
recession, causing investors to reverse course after Wall
Street had its best week in nearly five years last week.

Credit card provider American Express Co (AXP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a Dow
component, led the sell-off among financials.

Shares of home builders and retailers also fell after
strong buying last week by investors in search of bargains
created by weeks of market turbulence.

Adding to the concern about the economy was a government
report that showed factory orders rose less than expected in
December.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 55.11
points, or 0.43 percent, at 12,688.08. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX was down 7.85 points, or 0.56 percent, at
1,387.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 14.87
points, or 0.62 percent, at 2,398.49.

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LONDON - Britain's leading shares ended lower on Monday as
M&A activity featured but jitters over the global economy
weighed ahead of the Bank of England (BoE) rate-fixing meeting
later this week.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended 3.0 points or 0.1 percent lower
at 6,026.2, after suffering a midsession setback as fears over
the state of the U.S. economy were heightened by data showing
new factory orders rose less than expected in December.

Banks, which have recently picked themselves up from taking
a beating in January, accounted for 15 positive index points.
High climbers included HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), all up by more than 1 percent.

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TOKYO - Japanese stocks closed at a two-week high on Monday
as Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc
(YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) boosted Softbank Corp (9984.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and helped improve
overall market sentiment.

Shares of Yahoo Japan (4689.T: Quote, Profile, Research) ended the day swamped with
buy orders at 46,000 yen, up 9.5 percent or the stock's daily
limit of 4,000 yen.

Yahoo Japan is owned 41 percent by Softbank and 33 percent
by Yahoo Inc, while Softbank holds a 3.9 percent stake in Yahoo
Inc. Japan's financials and insurers such as Millea Holdings
Inc (8766.T: Quote, Profile, Research) also powered higher following reports of potential
rescue plans for large U.S. bond insurers that have been
battered by the global credit crunch.

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 2.7 percent or
362.54 points to end at 13,859.70, its highest close since Jan.
18. The broader TOPIX index was up 2.1 percent or 27.86
points at 1,364.72, the highest finish since Jan. 11.

After the market close, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp
(9432.T: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a 9.6 percent profit fall for the nine months
ended in December as fewer people signed up to its mobile phone
services, and it said it could lower its outlook on share price
falls. [ID:nT189931]

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The yen weakened broadly on Monday as gains in
equity markets in Asia sparked investors' appetite for
higher-yielding assets, while the dollar edged lower against a
basket of major currencies.

The dollar was relatively stable on Monday after being
whipsawed last week by another hefty interest rate cut from the
Federal Reserve, weak U.S. growth and jobs figures and a
surprisingly robust manufacturing report.

In late morning trading in New York, the dollar was up 0.15
percent on the day against the yen at 106.77 yen <JPY=> and the
euro was up 0.3 percent against the Japanese currency at 158.24
yen <EURJPY=R>.

The euro <EUR=> inched 0.2 percent higher to $1.4824. On
Friday, the euro rose as high as $1.4956, a two-month high, and
just below a record peak of $1.4966 struck in November.

The dollar index, a measure of the greenback's value
against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed at
75.41 .DXY.

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TREASURIES

NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Monday despite
weakness in stocks, as bond traders took profits from a recent
rally that has been driven by fears of a pending U.S.
recession.

Treasuries have rallied since the middle of last year, with
the benchmark 10-year note's yield falling over 1.5 percentage
points, but some investors are saying the rally may be running
out of steam even though the Federal Reserve is expected to
continue to cut benchmark U.S. interest rates.

Ten-year Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> were trading 17/32
lower in price for a yield of 3.66 percent from 3.60 percent
late on Friday, while the 2-year note <US2YT=RR>_was 2/32 lower
in price for a yield of 2.11 percent from 2.08 percent.

Some bond price weakness was also attributed to traders
trying to push bond prices down ahead of a new supply of
government debt later this week.

Five-year notes <US5YT=RR> were trading 7/32 lower in price
for a yield of 2.79 percent from 2.75 percent late on Friday,
while the 30-year bond <US30YT=RR> was 1-3/32 lower for a yield
of 4.38 percent against 4.31 percent.

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COMMODITIES

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GOLD

NEW YORK - Profit taking and chart-based weakness send gold
futures lower at about $900 an ounce by midday. COMEX gold
futures for April delivery GCJ8 drop $12.80 or 1.4 percent to
$900.70 anounce by 12:04 a.m. EST (1704 GMT), trading between
$896.00 and $917.40. COMEX estimated 11:00 a.m. volume at
101,016 lots. Spot gold <XAU=> trades at $896.10/896.80,
against the $910.00/910.75 in New York late on Friday. London
bullion dealers fixed the afternoon spot reference price at
$893.75.

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BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper prices firmed slightly on Monday on signs
of stronger demand and as the market fretted about supply
disruptions in China, which also helped to buoy aluminium.
Copper MCU3 for delivery in three months on the London Metal
Exchange ended the day at $7,260 a tonne, from $7,250 on
Friday, when the metal used widely in the power and
construction industries hit a two-week high of $7,389.

Analysts say rising demand can be seen in stocks of
copperin LME warehouses, which have fallen by more than 10
percentsince January 4 to 177,050 tonnes.

Aluminium MAL3 closed at $2,665 a tonne from $2,655 on
Friday when it hit a 6-month high of $2,738 a tonne.

Zinc slipped marginally on Monday, ending the day at
$2,470from $2,475 on Friday.

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OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures rose on Monday, bouncing
on technical support that held above $88 after sliding 3
percent on Friday.

Traders also cited Turkey's attacks on northern Iraq, fog
shutting the Houston Ship Channel and U.S. intent to buy more
crude for its petroleum reserve.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:03 p.m. EST (1703
GMT), March crude CLH8 was up 91 cents or 1.02 percent at
$89.87 a barrel, trading from $88.07 to $90.11.

In London, March Brent crude LCOH8 was up 82 cents or
0.92 percent at $90.26 per barrel, trading $88.63 to $90.42.

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