MORNING REPORT
(7am AEDT)

Flash PMIs dropped surprisingly in Germany, France and for the Euro-zone composite. The biggest surprise was the German manufacturing PMI which fell from 50.2 to 48.0. The French manufacturing PMI fell even more sharply, from 50.0 to 47.6. The composite Euro-zone PMI dropped from 49.3 to 48.7. The data continues to suggest a shallow contraction and it is likely that the Euro-zone experienced a technical recession over the past six months.

US initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 348,000 in the last week - marking the best reading since February 2008. The US leading economic index rose by 0.7pct in February - pointing to a further improvement in the US labour market and output.

European shares fell on Thursday, notching up their longest losing streak in four months. Cyclical stocks were hit hard after the latest round of weaker than expected manufacturing data. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources Index lost 3.4pct. The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 1.1pct with the German Dax down 1.3pct. The UK FTSE lost 0.8pct.

US sharemarkets fell for the third straight session on Thursday. The improvement in jobless claims was unable to stem fears of a larger slowdown in China and across the Eurozone. Mining, energy and transport stocks drove the weakness. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was lower by 78pts or 0.6pct with the S&P 500 down by 0.7pct while the Nasdaq lost 12pts or 0.4pct.

US treasuries rallied on Thursday (yields lower) as worries about global growth fuelled the bid for safe-haven assets. US 2yr yields fell 2pts to 0.37pct and US 10yr yields fell by 2pts to 2.28pct.

The Euro and commodity currencies fell in overnight trade, following the surprisingly weak manufacturing data. The Euro fell from highs around to US$1.3250, to lows near US$1.3140 and was holding near US$1.3185 in last trade. The Aussie dollar fell from highs around US104.15c to US103.35c and was near US103.85c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen traded between 83.40 yen per US dollar to JPY82.35 and was near JPY82.50 in late US trade.

Benchmark crude oil prices fell on Thursday as fears that a slowdown in global growth could dent energy demand. US Nymex crude fell by US$1.92 or 1.8pct to US$105.35 a barrel and London Brent crude fell by US$1.06 to US$123.14 a barrel.

Base metal prices were weaker on the London Metals Exchange on Thursday. Soft demand outlook weighed on commodities with the copper price falling to a two week low. And the gold price followed the oil price lower. The stronger US dollar added to the weakness. April Comex gold price fell US$7.80 or 0.5pct to US$1,642.50 an ounce.

Ahead: In Australia, no economic data is released. In the US, the new home sales are released.