FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks drifted lower as the recent rally paused, with investors shifting focus to wrangling in Greece over fiscal austerity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 38 points, or 0.3%, to 12824 as the last hour of trading approached.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 2.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1342, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 7.8 points, or 0.3%, to 2898. Nine of the S&P 500's 10 sectors were in the red, led lower by materials and financials. Boeing and Travelers were down 1.4%, the most among blue chips.

The market's breather comes after a rally that has seen the Dow and the S&P each rise nearly 20% since early October. In corporate news, shares of Humana slid 5.8% after the health insurer's fourth-quarter earnings and revenue missed expectations, and after it provided a downbeat earnings outlook for the current quarter even as it raised the full-year outlook.

HCA Holdings's fourth-quarter earnings soared as the hospital operator posted a gain of $1.52 billion related to its recent acquisition of a controlling interest in a Denver-area hospital system. Shares climbed 6%.

Hasbro added 2.3% after the toy maker reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue in line with expectations but indicated that growth in the U.S. and Canada segment was weaker than anticipated. SureWest Communications surged 44% after the company said it agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings in a cash and stock deal valued at $340.9 million,
excluding debt. Consolidated Communications shares fell 1.5%.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
European stocks ended in the red Monday as Greek debt negotiations rumbled on, with the country's politicians yet to reach an agreement on austerity measures.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 0.1% at 264.27, snapping a four-day winning streak. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index ended down 0.2% at 5892.20, Germany's DAX finished nearly flat at 6764.83, and France's CAC-40 index ended 0.7% lower at 3405.27.

Banking shares led decliners. Credit Agricole SA closed down 2.7%, Societe Generale SA lost 2.9% and BNP Paribas SA inched 0.6% lower in France. In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank AG fell 1.2%, while Commerzbank AG shed 1.3%.

European equities pared losses in afternoon trade after James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, said the U.S. housing market was bottoming out, which inspired optimism in Europe, according to Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.

However, Greece was the focus, as talks between Greek political party leaders, that had been due to take place Monday, were pushed back to Tuesday to allow the Greek prime minister to meet with creditors.

A marathon meeting Sunday reportedly failed to lead to an agreement on further austerity measures and economic reforms required to receive a crucial second bailout to avoid default. Bucking the trend in European equities, the Athens General Index jumped 3% to 785.00, led by National Bank of Greece SA, which surged 11.4%. In other market activity, German utility RWE rose 2.6%, following press reports suggesting the company is planning to cut another 3,500 jobs to save an additional EUR1 billion a year.

In London, miner Randgold Resources also bucked the trend, ending up 2.2% after posting a more than fourfold rise in fourth-quarter net profit, which led to a doubling of its dividend payment. Glencore International PLC fell 4.5% as investors digested news reports that the proposed merger with Xstrata PLC might be investigated by the European Union competition commissioner. Xstrata shares were down 1.7%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Most Asian stock markets rose Monday after an upbeat jobs report from the U.S. suggested the recovery in the world's biggest economy was picking up pace, briefly propelling the Tokyo market to its highest level in three months and buoying the U.S. dollar.

Regional investors bought into cyclical stocks, working off positive cues from Wall Street. Still, an air of caution prevailed in markets as Greek debt restructuring talks dragged on, keeping the euro under pressure.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1% to 8929.77, after earlier tapping the highest intraday level since Oct. 31 at 9,152.39. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.5% and India's Sensex gained 0.9%.

South Korea's Kospi Composite was off 1.0% with options expiry this week weighing on the index. Markets in New Zealand and Malaysia were closed for public holidays. Regional resources and oil-related stocks rose on the back of Friday's surge in base metals and crude oil prices as the U.S. jobs report raised expectations of improved demand.

Sumitomo Metal Mining climbed 1.6% in Tokyo, SK Innovation rose 2.8% in Seoul, while China Coal Energy rose 1.6% in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, most of the blue chip stocks were higher, with those up more than 2% including Wharf (Holdings) and HSBC.

Investors in Tokyo took the opportunity to buy into stocks that were heavily sold off on poor earnings, particularly exporters, on brighter global demand prospects. Honda Motor rose 2.6% and Sony advanced 4.1%, while Nikon rose 10% after a positive appraisal of its results.

COMMODITIES
Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Monday as soft equities, a weak euro and concerns over Greek debt negotiations weighed on sentiment. LME three-month copper closed the afternoon kerb at $8,500 a metric ton, down 0.7% on the previous close, while three-month lead ended down 2% at $2,180/ton.

Crude futures headed lower Monday, retreating from Friday's gains as fresh worries about European debt emerged. Light, sweet crude for March delivery settled $0.93 lower at $96.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The premium of Europe's

Brent crude compared to U.S-traded West Texas Intermediate rose above $19 Monday, the widest gap between the two benchmark contracts since November, on rising inventories in the key U.S. oil hub of Cushing, Okla.

Oil prices fell as Greek leaders failed over the weekend to reach a deal on reforms required for additional debt restructuring, sending the euro and other assets seen as riskier bets lower as the dollar rose.

Gold futures pared losses but ended in negative territory as a deal to reform Greece's troubled economy remained elusive and as investors continued to lock in recent gains. Gold for April delivery, the most-active contract, fell $15.40, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,724.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.