From MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD.:

U.S. STOCKS:

Stocks rose Monday, testing fresh multiyear highs, after a steady reading from home builders and news of Apple's plan to return cash to shareholders. Blue chips started the day in the red but rebounded after noon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26 points, or 0.2%, to 13258.62.

The index was on track to see its highest close since December 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 8.7 points, or 0.6%, to 1412.85, on pace to close at the highest level in early four years.

The Nasdaq Composite added 28 points, or 0.9%, to 3083.43. Apple shares rose 2.3% to $598.76. The Cupertino, Calif., company said it will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share and buy back as much as $10 billion in stock, ending speculation about what the company planned to do with its nearly $100 billion cash pile.

Financials led the market's gains. Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and American Express were among the strongest blue chips. Morgan Stanley analysts raised their forecasts for a handful of banks' stock prices, citing improving capital-markets and consumer-credit conditions.

U.S. home builders' confidence in the housing market held steady in March at the highest level in nearly five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders. But the group's housing-market index, which had risen for five straight months, missed expectations.

EUROPEAN STOCKS:

The French and German stock markets snapped their eight-session winning streaks Monday, as investors paused following last week's global share rally.

France's CAC-40 index dropped 0.5% to 3577.88, and Germany's DAX declined 0.1% to 7154.22. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 0.1% at 272.07, its first decline in five days.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was also lower, slipping 0.1% to 5961.11. In corporate news, TNT Express shares rose 1.1% after United Parcel Service said it has agreed to buy the company in an all-cash deal that values it at around EUR5.16 billion.

In London, banking software company Misys surged 7.4% after saying it has agreed to be taken over by private-equity firm Vista Capital Partners for 350 pence a share, valuing the company at GBP1.27 billion.

News from U.S. technology bellwether Apple Inc. helped improve the mood in the afternoon and lift European indexes off their lows. Apple said it will buy back $10 billion in stock and pay a quarterly dividend, the company's first dividend since December 1995.

Auto makers weighed on the indexes. In Germany, BMW fell 1.6% after Goldman Sachs affirmed its buy rating on the stock but removed it from its conviction-buy list. Daimler lost 0.2%, Volkswagen shed 0.9%, and Porsche Automobil Holding declined 2.2%. In France, Peugeot stood out among car makers, rising 4.9%.

Reaction to the Greek auctions of credit-default swaps was muted. A panel of dealers determined in an auction Monday that holders of Greek credit-default swaps will be paid 78.5 cents on the dollar after Greece's debt restructuring, a result in line with expectations.

But Greek shares bucked the negative trend. The Athens General Index climbed 1.6% to 776.79. National Bank of Greece jumped 6.2%, and Hellenic Telecommunications Organization added 5%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCKS

Asian stock markets ended mixed Monday as investors paused to reassess the global growth outlook following some downbeat economic data in the U.S, though shares in Tokyo climbed for the fifth straight session, with a weaker yen underpinning Japanese exporters.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.1% to 10,141.99, its highest finish since the March 11 earthquake and nuclear disasters. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.6% and Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.1%.

China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% higher after a choppy trading session, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.0% and Singapore's Straits Times Index was down 0.6%.

Property firms on mainland bourses were pressured after government data released Sunday showed the average property prices fell in February for a fifth straight month.

Shares in Poly Real Estate Group Co. fell 0.8%, Gemdale Corp. eased 0.5% and China Vanke Co. lost 0.6%. In Tokyo, the yen's sharp drop against the euro underpinned the market as some Europe-linked exporters outperformed.

Shares of Fanuc Corp. rose 2.0%, while machinery maker Komatsu Ltd. gained 2.9%. Commodity trading house Marubeni Corp. climbed 2.4% after the Nikkei newspaper reported Monday it planned to buy a 50% stake in a U.K. wind power engineering firm.

Banks also advanced, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. rising 1.4% and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. adding 2.1%. The gains came after Moody's Investors Service said the Bank of Japan's plan to provide dollar funding to high-growth enterprises was positive for lenders' creditworthiness.

Energy sector stocks gained as Nymex crude-oil prices stayed above $107 a barrel for most of the Asian stock trading day. JX Holdings added 1.5% and Japan Petroleum Exploration rose 0.4% in Tokyo. Cnooc Ltd. climbed 0.1%, though it ended well off its lows in a downbeat Hong Kong market.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange Monday as expectations of a sustainable economic recovery lifted sentiment across the broader markets, although trading conditions were generally quiet as investors awaited fresh data later in the week.

LME three-month copper ended the PM kerb at $8,570 a metric ton, up $65, or 0.8%, on Friday's close. Three-month zinc ended the session unchanged, while three-month lead closed at $2,104/ton, down 0.1% on Friday's PM kerb.

U.S. crude-oil futures prices settled higher Monday, with trading dominated by position adjustments that suggest still-higher prices on the horizon.

Traders said there was little news to drive trading, but noted the International Monetary Fund sent mixed signals about the global economic outlook.

Light, sweet crude for April settled 1%, or $1.03 a barrel higher, at $108.09 a barrel. The May contract settled up 0.9%, or 98 cents higher, at $108.56 a barrel. ICE North Sea Brent crude was little changed in late trading, off 9 cents, at $125.72 a barrel.

Gold futures edged higher while platinum again outpaced gold's gains as precious metals drew strength from a weaker dollar in a quiet trading day. The most active gold contract, for April delivery, rose $11.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,667.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex platinum futures for April delivery, the most active contract, settled up $9.20, or 0.6%, at $1,684.70 a troy ounce.