From MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose amid better-than-expected retail sales data, while Apple shares' biggest drop since October pulled other major benchmarks into the red. The Dow bounced from its biggest weekly slide of the year to rise 71.82 points, or 0.6%, to 12921.41.

Standard Poor's 500-stock eased 0.69 point, or less than 0.1%, to 1369.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated 22.93 points, or 0.8%, to 2988.40. Apple shares fell 4.1% for their biggest percentage drop since Oct. 19.

Traders speculated that some shareholders were selling to cash in on the stock's more than 40% gain this year. Citigroup rose 1.8% after reporting improvements in all three of its lines of business for the first quarter.

Also weighing on stocks, the yield on Spain's 10-year government bonds rose above 6% for the first time since before the European Central Bank launched its first liquidity operation, sparking further worry about Europe's debt crisis. U.S. retail and food service sales in March rose 0.8% from a month earlier, sharply topping expectations.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, retail sales increased by the same percentage, the Commerce Department reported. Other data were less encouraging.

U.S. home builders' confidence in the housing market fell in April for the first time in seven months, coming in short of forecasts. New York manufacturing activity slowed sharply in April, although employment data improved, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

U.S. business inventories rose in February, led by an increasing number of cars on dealer lots, as companies kept pace with rising sales. In corporate news, Mattel shares slid 9.1% after the toy maker reported first-quarter results that fell short of estimates.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

Most European stock markets ended a choppy session in positive territory Monday, after a mixed batch of U.S. economic news, while Spanish shares remained largely under pressure as government bond yields topped a psychologically important level.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to close at 254.26. France's CAC 40 index rose 0.5% to 3,205.82, Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.6% to 6,625.19, and FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% to 5,666.28.

The Stoxx Europe index rallied sharply after U.S. data showed a bigger-than-expected 0.8% increase in March retail sales, but then pared gains after home-builder sentiment dropped for April, the first fall in seven months.

Shares of Novo Nordisk AS rose more than 2% amid a firmer tone for pharmaceutical stocks across the board. GlaxoSmithKline PLC gained 1.8% and Sanofi SA added 0.5%. Hennes & Mauritz AB rose 1.5% after the Swedish retailer reported March total sales up 26%, with comparable sales up 16%, on favorable weather and a positive calendar effect.

French oil producer Total SA added 1.5%. The company announced improved first-quarter refining margins and said it had made significant progress in efforts to stem a natural-gas leak on its Elgin field platform. Banks' shares largely sat out Monday's gains, although they rebounded from lows seen early in the session.

Spanish stocks veered between positive and negative territory, as yields on the country's 10-year government bond stuck close to the psychologically key level of 6%, reached earlier in the day. Spanish debt auctions Tuesday and Thursday will be a major focus for markets this week. Media reports in the afternoon said the Spanish government may intervene over the finances of any regional government not toeing the line on finances.

The IBEX-35 index ended 0.6% lower at 7,209.10. Banco Santander SA and BBVA SA lost 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively. Portugal stocks also stayed under pressure following losses last week. The PSI 20 index fell 0.8% to 5,174.14.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian stock markets ended lower Monday as a jump in Spanish borrowing costs kept European fiscal problems in focus, with many regional financial and commodity stocks falling sharply, while losses in Tokyo were made worse by a stronger yen.

Concerns about Europe outweighed an announcement by the People's Bank of China over the weekend to double the yuan's trading range against the dollar on a given day to 1% from 0.5%, pushing currencies such as the yen and the dollar higher, and hurting commodity prices.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gave up 1.7%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.8%, and Taiwan's Taiex slid 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fared relatively better, slipping 0.1%. Many regional banks fell sharply after a sell-off in global financials Friday.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 3.5% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 3% in Tokyo, KB Financial Group lost 2.2% in Seoul, while HSBC Holdings PLC dropped 1.4% and Bank of China shed 1.2% in Hong Kong.

Japanese exporters were pressured by the yen's rise, with Canon dropping 2.4%, Honda Motor losing 2.0% and Fanuc shedding 2.7%. Resource-linked stocks declined as a firmer dollar further dragged on commodity futures. Inpex Corp. fell 1.3% and trading firm Marubeni skidded 4.8% in Tokyo.

Shares of Jiangxi Copper dropped 1.3% and Aluminum Corp. of China lost 0.6% in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, the stocks declined 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Monday, weighed by soft manufacturing and housing reports out of the U.S.

Three-month copper closed the at $7,984 a metric ton, down $6, or 0.1%, on Friday's close. Earlier in the global day, the price of copper dipped to a 13-week low.

Nickel and tin were the biggest losers, dropping 4.4% and 3.6% respectively by the close. U.S. oil futures edged higher, but Brent crude fell sharply after talks with Iran left the door open to a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, an updated timeline on the reversal of a key Midwestern oil pipeline also helped push Brent prices lower and boost the U.S. benchmark, according to traders. Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 10 cents, or 0.1%, higher at $102.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the European benchmark, settled $2.53, or 2.1%, lower at $118.68 a barrel. Gold futures ended lower, as pressure from the stronger dollar continued to weigh on trader sentiment. The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, fell $10.50, or 0.60%, to settle at $1,649.70 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

RELATED STORIES