FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:


U.S. STOCKS:

U.S. stocks traded roughly flat on the day as the Dow industrials struggled to post a sixth straight gain, one day after the Federal Reserve said most of the biggest U.S. banks passed the latest round of stress tests.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up three points, or less than 0.1%, to 13181, in Wednesday afternoon trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slipped four points, or 0.3%, to 1392, while the Nasdaq Composite lost six points, or 0.2%, to 3034.

Technology was the sole advancing sector, as Apple jumped for a sixth straight day to bring its 2012 advance to 45%. The tech company rose to as high as $594.72 a share in afternoon trading, following favorable comments and price-target upgrades by Wall Street analysts.

Financial stocks were in focus, after the Fed's stress tests found at least four of 19 banks Citigroup, MetLife, SunTrust Banks and Ally Financial would have to resubmit capital plans.

Bank of America, however, led the Dow components to bring its gains this year to 57%. American Express was also strong. In U.S. economic news, higher oil prices pushed up import prices in February for the first time in three months, hinting at new inflation pressures, though the gain came in below expectations.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS:

Financials led European stock markets higher Wednesday a day after broadly positive stress-test results for U.S. banks and upbeat comments from the Federal Reserve, while borrowing costs fell at an Italian debt auction.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 270.27. The broader European markets trimmed gains in afternoon trade after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a video-taped speech that the economic recovery has been frustratingly slow.

However, stocks were supported by positive comments regarding the U.S. economy by the Federal Open Market Committee. Also, the Fed released its bank stress-test results after the U.S. market closed Tuesday, and said 15 of 19 banks have enough capital to withstand a crisis.

Citigroup Inc. was among the banks that came up short. Posting one of the biggest gains in Europe, E.ON AG rallied 7% after reporting its first loss ever, but saying that profit will rise in coming years.

Deutsche Bank AG added 3.4% and Commerzbank AG was 2.6% higher, helping lift the DAX 30 index 1.2% to 7,079.42.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index closed 0.2% lower at 5,945.43. Banks gained, with Barclays PLC up 3.9%, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC rising 3.1%, and HSBC Holdings PLC adding 2%.

Vodafone Group PLC fell 2.4% as Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral. Legal & General Group PLC added 7.2% as it lifted its full-year dividend 35% to 6.40 pence a share.

Banks also rose in France. BNP Paribas SA added 2.8% and Credit Agricole SA advanced 3.2%. The CAC 40 index rose 0.4% to 3,564.51. Elsewhere, the Italian government successfully sold EUR5 billion of three-year bonds at auction. The yield fell to 2.76% from 3.41% in a February sale.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS:

Asian stock markets ended mostly higher Wednesday as positive economic data in the U.S. and more upbeat comments from the Federal Reserve boosted sentiment, but Chinese stocks fell sharply after Premier Wen Jiabao poured cold water on expectations Beijing may loosen policy toward the property sector.

South Korea's Kospi gained 1.0%, while Taiwan's Taiex added 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rallied 1.5%.

China's Shanghai Composite finished 2.6% lower though, well off the day's high at 2,476.22, on a wave of selling in afternoon trading; the Shenzhen Composite Index skidded 4.1% to 969.12.

The sell-off came after Wen reiterated the government's commitment to cool the nation's housing market, warning of damage to the economy if controls were relaxed prematurely.

The retreat also weighed on Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index ended down 0.2% at 21,307.89. Property developers ranked among those hit hard on mainland bourses, with Gemdale Corp. down 5.9% and Poly Real Estate Group Co. losing 3% in Shanghai, while China Vanke fell 2.7% and Oceanwide Real Estate Group dropped 9.0% in Shenzhen.

In Tokyo, Japanese exporters continued to benefit from the yen's weakness. Shares of Sony Corp. soared 5.2%, Nissan Motor gained 3.8% and Sharp rose 4.3%.

Financial firms tracked strength for their U.S. peers after 15 banks passed U.S. stress tests and many announced plans to hike dividends. Tokyo-listed Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. climbed 3.9%, heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 2.3% in Hong Kong, and KB Financial Group Inc. spiked 3.9% in Seoul.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, with flagship copper reversing most of the previous session's gains despite a more confident mood in the wider financial markets.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 1.1% lower on the day at $8,465 a metric ton. Nickel performed the best of the complex, closing 0.6% higher at $19,575/ton.

Oil futures fell in an intense sell-off during the last half-hour of trading Wednesday, after meandering most of the session. Light, sweet crude for April delivery settled down $1.28, or 1.2%, at $105.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange fell $1.25, or 1%, to settle at $124.97 a barrel.

Traders say there were no major headlines driving the market and attributed the move to technical-driven trades.

Gold futures tumbled as investors continued to shed the precious metal after Tuesday's Federal Reserve statement damped hopes of another round of monetary stimulus.

April-delivery gold fell $51.30, or 3%, to settle at $1,642.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the lowest gold settlement price in more than eight weeks.