New Zealand/Australia Morning Call-Global markets

________________Snapshot at 7.05.a.m. (1805
GMT)________________
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 3,531.40 -26.00 NZSX 50 0,000.00
+0.00
DJIA 8,453.90 -65.87 Nikkei 8,723.78
+135.26
NASDAQ 1,520.95 -11.40 FTSE 4,255.98
+6.82
S&P 500 0,865.26 -6.37 Hang Seng 14,622.39
-401.60
SPI 200 Fut 3,549.00 -98.00 CRB Index 214.41
-0.94
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 95.910 +0.025 US 10 YR Bond 2.170
-0.010
NZ 10 YR Bond 4.574 -0.001 US 30 YR Bond 2.633
-0.041
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.6802 0.6825 NZD US$ 0.5666
0.5727
EUR US$ 1.3960 1.3988 Yen US$ 90.70
90.24
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 843.50 Silver (Lon) 10.700

Gold (NY) 847.10 Light Crude #N/A DRP

____________________________(Dec
24)____________________________
Overnight market action. An update will be sent after the
close of New York markets.

EQUITIES

NEW YORK - Fading hope for a recovery in the housing market
and worry about the outlook for consumer spending kept U.S.
stocks in check on Tuesday, with weakness in retailers and car
makers getting in the way of an early rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 6.53
points, or 0.08 percent, to 8,513.24. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index .SPX slid 0.22 points, or 0.03 percent, to 871.41. The
Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 2.26 points, or 0.15
percent, to 1,534.61.

For a full report, double click on [.N]

- - - -

LONDON - Britain's top share index inched up 0.2 percent on
Tuesday, with banks offsetting losses in Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and
oil producers, though volumes were light on the last full
trading day before Christmas.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE closed 6.82 points higher at 4,255.98,
after rising as high as 4,307.09. The UK benchmark has fallen
34 percent this year on concerns of a deep and painful global
recession, triggered by a meltdown in risky U.S. subprime
mortgages.

For a full report, double click on [.L]

- - - -

TOKYO - Japanese markets were closed on Tuesday for a
public holiday.

On Monday, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 added 135.26 points
to 8,723.78, the highest finish since Nov. 11. The broader
Topix .TOPX climbed 1.7 percent to 848.72.

For a full report, double click on [.T]

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NEW YORK - The dollar edged up against most major
currencies in thin pre-holiday trade on Tuesday as year-end
demand for the greenback blunted another round of grim economic
data that suggested a prolonged U.S. recession ahead.

Around midday in New York, the dollar was changing hands at
90.56 yen JPY=, up 0.5 percent on the day but not far from
last week's 13-1/2-year low near 87 yen.

The euro rose 0.6 percent to 126.37 yen EURJPY= and 0.1
percent to $1.3955 EUR=, well off a $1.4020 session high.

The dollar fell 0.7 percent to 1.0850 Swiss francs CHF=
but rose sharply against the Australian AUD= and New Zealand
NZD= dollars.

For a full report, double click on [USD/]

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TREASURIES

NEW YORK - Longer-dated Treasury debt prices rose on
Tuesday after data showed the housing market continues to
slide, threatening to drag the U.S. economy deeper into
recession.

The 30-year Treasury bond jumped 1-1/32 in price for a
yield of 2.63 percent US30YT=RR, down from 2.67 percent late
Monday.

The 10-year Treasury note's price reversed an earlier
modest gain of 3/32 and was unchanged in price at 113-28/32 at
midday, yielding 2.18 percent.

The five-year Treasury note's price fell 6/32 for a yield
of 1.46 percent US5YT=RR, up from 1.42 percent late on
Monday.

For a full report, double click on [US/]

- - - -

COMMODITIES

GOLD

NEW YORK - February GCG9 slipped $12.70, or 1.5 percent,
to $834.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange at 12:41 a.m. EST (1741 GMT).

Spot gold XAU= was quoted at $832.75/$834.75 an ounce
from $844.0 an ounce in late Monday business. Afternoon fix in
London XAUFIX= was set lower at $843.50 an ounce.

For a full report, double click on [GOL/]

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BASE METALS

LONDON - Copper shed 4.2 percent on Tuesday as investors
shrugged off China's smaller-than-anticipated interest rate cut
while concerns over demand due to a worsening economic outlook
returned.

Copper for three-month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal
Exchange closed at $2,870 a tonne in rings from $2,960 at the
close on Monday and compared with a session low at $2,837.

Volatile aluminium rose 1.9 percent to a high of $1,585
but
eased back to close at $1,560 in LME rings from $1,555.

Nickel MNI3 fell more than 5 percent to close at $9,750
from $10,300 on Monday, lead MPB3 at $870 from $908 and zinc
MZN3 at $1,158 from $1,180. Tin MSN3 drifted lower to close
at $9,900 versus $10,305.

For a full report, double click on [MET/L]

- - - -

OIL

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures edged up in choppy, thin
and pre-holiday trading on Tuesday, as economic concerns
continued to weigh even as oil received some lift from a weak
dollar.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:10 a.m. EST (1510
GMT), February crude CLG9 was down 56 cents, or 1.4 percent,
at $39.35 a barrel, trading from $39.05 to $40.65.

In London, February Brent LCOG9 crude fell 29 cents, or
0.7 percent, to $41.16 a barrel, trading from $40.73 to $42.02.

For a full report, double click on [O/R]

- - - - ((Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373
1800/+64 4 471 4234))