From Morrison Securities Pty Ltd.:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks were on pace for their steepest fall of the year, as questions about the latest Greek bailout added to concerns about industrial stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 111 points, or 0.9%, to 12768, in late Wednesday afternoon, after rising for five out of the past six days.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell eight points, or 0.6%, to 1343, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 13 points, or 0.4%, to 2919.

Leading the declines were industrials stocks, after a report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production unchanged in January, disappointing economists' expectations for a 0.7% increase.

United Technologies lost 1.6%, Caterpillar declined 1.9%, 3M fell 0.7% and Boeing shed 0.6%. Those four stocks accounted for about one-third of the Dow's decline.

Gains among materials and technology stocks helped to limit losses. Sentiment got a boost after People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China's central bank will expand its investments of Euro-denominated assets.

But those sentiments were overshadowed by suggestions that Euro-zone finance officials were looking to delay at least part of the latest Greek bailout until after the country's April elections, without triggering a default.

The Fed, in minutes released from their January meeting, reinforced expectations that the central bank stands ready to launch further easing measures in the event of further economic weakness.

In economic news, New York manufacturing activity in February expanded for the third consecutive month. Industrial production was unchanged last month, though December's output figures were revised up and capacity utilization slipped.

A measure of home-builder confidence rose to its highest level since May 2007, higher than economist estimates. In corporate news, Procter & Gamble led the Dow components with a flat performance after the consumer-goods company said it agreed to terminate the deal to sell its Pringles business to Diamond Foods, and instead will sell the business to Kellogg for $2.7 billion.

Kellogg rose 5.2% while Diamond Foods added 5.9%. Apple reversed earlier gains to fall 1.6% after Chief Executive Tim Cook said at a technology conference that the company is considering what to do with its huge cash hoard.

Comcast ran up 4.5% after the cable and television-network operator reported fourth-quarter results that beat forecasts, increased its annual dividend 44% to 65 cents a share, and authorized a $6.5 billion stock-buyback program, with $3 billion to be repurchased in 2012.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European stock markets advanced Wednesday after data showed the Euro-zone economy shrank less than forecast in the fourth quarter of 2011 and Chinese officials pledged to support the region, but worries about a delay to a second Greek bailout cast a shadow over sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.6% to close at 264.16. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.1% lower at 5892.16, while Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 6757.94 and France's CAC-40 closed 0.4% higher at 3390.35. Greece's ASE composite slumped 5.1% to 776.28. Among the biggest gainers Wednesday, BNP Paribas SA added 4.1%.

The bank reported a 51% drop in fourth-quarter net profit as it took writedowns on Greek bonds, but profit still beat analyst forecasts.

Lifting sentiment for stocks, data released earlier in the day showed gross domestic product in the Euro zone contracted 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. Economists were expecting a 0.4% contraction. Supportive news from China also drove gains for Europe.

The People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in Beijing overnight that he believes Europe can solve its sovereign issues and that China will expand investments in the region.

However, stocks in Europe pared back as Wall Street opened mixed, with fresh worries about Greece weighing on stocks. In Greece, shares of National Bank of Greece SA fell more than 10%. Shares of Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA shed 7.5%.

Elsewhere, banks kept the lead. Societe Generale SA added 2.2% in Paris, while in Italy, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA surged 10.6%, posting the biggest gain on the Stoxx 600. Its controlling shareholder said Tuesday it may sell up to 15% of the Italian bank, according to media reports.

The FTSE MIB Italy index rose 0.4% to 16,513.21. In London, shares of Barclays PLC advanced 2.9%, and Standard Chartered PLC added 2.2%. HSBC Holdings PLC traded up 2.6%. In Germany, shares of Adidas AG rose 2.6% after competitor Puma SE reported annual sales that beat estimates. Shares of Puma also gained, up 3.1%.

ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS
Asian stocks surged Wednesday, with Japan and Hong Kong's main benchmarks hitting six-month highs, after China indicated plans to expand its support to Europe as the region grapples with debt woes.

The Nikkei Stock Average rallied 2.3% to 9260.34, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 2.1% to 21,365.23, their highest closing levels since August.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9% to 2366.70 and the South Korean Kospi climbed 1.1% to 2025.32. U.S. shares had ended Tuesday mostly unchanged, with stocks staging a late recovery from early losses related to weak retail sales figures. Japanese exporters rallied as the dollar extended its surge against the yen overnight, prompted by Tuesday's surprise monetary easing from the Bank of Japan.

Among export-sector gainers were Toyota Motor Corp., up 4.6%, Honda Motor Co., up 3.3%, and Sony Corp., up 5.7%. The Hong Kong market got a boost as property firms extended a rebound from losses at the start of the week, with Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. climbing 4.3%, Hang Lung Properties Ltd. trading up 3.4%, and Sino Land Co. gaining 4%.

The gains in Japan were even made against notable losses for several firms. Yahoo Japan Corp. fell 3.7% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo's bid to sell a large portion of its stakes in Asian Internet companies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan was off the table. Shares of Elpida Memory Inc. plunged 14.4% after the firm said Tuesday that talks to secure capital to ease the company's debt burdens weren't going smoothly.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, weighed by a stronger dollar after Greece's much-needed bailout ran into further hurdles. LME three month copper ended the PM kerb at $8,370 a metric ton, down 0.5% on the day.

Tin, the most thinly traded of the metals, was the only market to close ring-trading higher. Crude-oil futures rose Wednesday after a report from an Iranian state television broadcast, later denied by the Iranian government, said the country had cut oil exports to six European nations.

Iran's Press TV said the country had cut oil exports to France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece in response to sanctions imposed by the European Union on Iran's energy and banking sectors.

Iranian officials later denied the report, including an Iranian diplomat who said no official notification about a decision to cut oil exports has been was received. Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery settled $1.06, or 1.1%, higher at $101.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as $102.54 earlier in the session.

Gold futures rose as the latest set of Greek-debt worries weren't enough to derail gains made in precious metals after China signaled its support for Europe's financial system. The most-actively traded contract, for April delivery, rose $10.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,728.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.