MORNING REPORT
(7am AEDT - Due to the change in daylight saving hours in the US - Wall street now closes at 7am AEDT)

The Midwest manufacturing index rose from 89.0 to 90.1 In January. The National Association of Home Builders sentiment index was unchanged at 28 in March - the highest level since June 2007.

European shares slipped from eight-month highs on Monday. The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.1pct with the German Dax and the UK FTSE both down 0.1pct. Shares in Dutch courier company, TNT Express, rose 1.1pct after United Parcel Service said it had agreed a 5.2 billion-euro (US$6.85 billion) takeover. Miners were also positive with shares of BHP Billiton lifting 0.6pct in London trade and Rio Tinto gaining 1.0pct.

US sharemarkets ended with modest gains on Monday. Shares in UPS rose by 2.7pct after agreeing to buy rival courier company TNT Express. Shares in Apple rose by 2.2pct after announcing that it will pay a dividend for the first time since 1995 as well as announcing a US$10 billion buyback program. Shares in US Steel rose by 6.8pct in response to a broker upgrade. But shares in Bank of America fell by 1.9pct. At the close, the Dow Jones was up by 6pts or 0.1pct with the S&P 500 up by 0.4pct while the Nasdaq gained 23pts or 0.8pct.

US long-term treasuries slumped on Monday (yields lifting to 4-1/2 month highs) as investors switched from government bonds to ´´riskier´´ assets such as commodities and equities. US 2yr yields were flat at 0.375pct and US 10yr yields rose by 6pts to 2.36pct.

The Euro and commodity currencies rose against the greenback in the US session. The Euro rose from lows around US$1.3140 to US$1.3260, and was near US$1.3235 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows around US105.55c to US106.35c and was near US106.05c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen traded between 83.00 yen per US dollar to JPY83.53 and was near JPY83.32 in late US trade.

Benchmark crude oil prices were mixed on Monday. US crude prices were supported by investors shifting from government bonds into riskier assets. But the Brent price eased on reports that Libya would return to pre-war export levels in April. US Nymex crude rose by US$1.03 or 1.0pct to US$108.09 a barrel but London Brent crude fell by US10c to US$125.71 a barrel.

Base metal prices rose modestly on Monday, lifting up to 1.1pct. The exception was lead, down 0.3pct. And the gold price also rose modestly on Monday with the April Comex gold price up by US$11.50 or 0.7pct to US$1,667.30 an ounce.

Ahead: In Australia, minutes of the March 6 Reserve Bank Board meeting are released. Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Malcolm Edey delivers a speech. In the US, data on housing starts is released.