From Morission Securities Pty. Ltd.

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks fluctuated between slim gains and declines Wednesday after rallying sharply in the previous session, as encouraging results from auto makers helped offset concerns about the Euro zone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 16 points, or 0.1%, to 12413, in recent afternoon trading. The index pared earlier losses of as much as 60 points.

The slim gain came after the Dow surged 179.82 points on the first U.S. trading day of 2012. It was the third-biggest point gain to kick off a new year in the index's history. Microsoft rose 2.4% and Alcoa jumped 2% to lead the Dow's gainers, while Wal-Mart Stores shed 1% and Travelers fell 0.9%.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index edged up less than a point to 1278. Health-care and financial stocks fell, while consumer-discretionary and material stocks rose. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite edged up one point, or 0.1%, to 2650. Ford Motor reported a 10% year-over-year increase in vehicle sales for December while General Motors reported a 4.6% gain. For all of 2011, Ford sales increased 11% and GM's rose 13%. Both auto makers see sales gains intensifying in 2012. Ford shares rose 2.3% and GM advanced 0.5%.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
European stocks dropped Wednesday as renewed concerns about the euro-zone sovereign-debt crisis prompted investors to sell bank shares, particularly in Spain and Italy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.6% to end at 249.62. Vestas Wind Systems A/S was the biggest loser in the Stoxx 600. Its shares sank more than 19% in Copenhagen after the wind-turbine maker said late Tuesday it expects 2011 adjusted earnings to be zero compared with a previous forecast of around EUR255 million. Markets in Spain and Italy posted big losses.

In Madrid, the IBEX 35 index dropped 1.7% to 8,581.80, as the newspaper Expansion reportedly said that the Spanish government was mulling whether to apply for loans from the European Union's bailout fund and the International Monetary Fund to help restructure the nation's banks. The unconfirmed Expansion report cited unnamed sources. Spanish banks fell sharply, with Banco Santander down 3.9% and BBVA SA down 2.9%.

In Milan, shares of UniCredit Spa sank 14.5% after the Italian bank said it would sell shares at a 43% discount to the so-called theoretical ex-rights market price.

The fall in UniCredit shares weighed on Italy's FTSE MIB index, which dropped 2% to 15,327.03. Other bank shares also posted steep declines across Europe.

In Portugal, Banco Comercial Portugues dropped 12% and Banco Espirito Santo fell nearly 9%. The PSI 20 index closed down 1.9% at 5,592.76 in Lisbon.

In Germany, the DAX 30 index declined 0.9% to 6,111.55, led lower by a 5% drop for shares of Commerzbank AG. France's CAC 40 index fell 1.6% to 3,193.65, as shares of nuclear energy firm Electricite de France SA dropped 5.1%. In the telecommunications-equipment sector, Alcatel-Lucent fell 6.4% in Paris and Ericsson dropped 4.5%.

The losses came after Acme Packet Inc. late Tuesday lowered its 2011 outlook for revenue and earnings.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to end at 5,668.45, with commodities trader Glencore International PLC closing down 3.1%. Shares of Next PLC dropped 3.1% after the retailer issued a cautious outlook for 2012, saying it expects modest growth in overall Next brand sales with profit before tax only slightly up on this year.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS
Asian stock markets closed mostly higher with Japanese stocks beginning their journey in 2012 on a positive note Wednesday, as investors got their first chance to react to an upbeat start to global equity markets, while Chinese shares lost a struggle to advance amid lingering concerns about tight liquidity.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average finished 1.2% higher at 8,560.11 and Taiwan's Taiex added 0.4% to 7,082.97. China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.4% to 2,169.39, after a higher opening.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.8% to 18,727.31, while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.5% to 1,866.22. In Hong Kong, PetroChina Co. climbed 1.2%, and Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. added 5.5%.

In Shanghai, Baoshan Iron & Steel added 0.2% and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp rose 2.5%.

Those gains in Hong Kong were countered by a 14% tumble in shares of Swire Pacific Ltd., after some analysts highlighted likely lower valuations for the conglomerate after a spin-off of its property division.

Many Chinese banking and property shares also declined. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. shed 1.1% and China Resources Land Ltd. gave up 2.4% in Hong Kong; on the mainland bourses, ICBC dropped 0.5% in Shanghai, while China Vanke Co. shed 1.9% in Shenzhen.

In Tokyo, Japanese exporters and financials rode the upbeat data which had fueled a Wall Street advance to gains of their own. Among the major climbers, Sony Corp. rose 1.6%, and Toyota Motor Corp. improved by 3.1%. Technology shares also rallied, with Renesas Electronics Corp. climbing 1.7%, and Fujitsu Ltd. rising 3.5%.

COMMODITIES
Base metals closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday as returning investors cashed in on the previous session's gains.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 3.3% lower at $7,535 a metric ton, more than reversing the previous session's 2.5% gain to $7,790/ton.

Oil prices spiked in mid-morning trading at their highest level in nearly eight months on reports that European Union officials agreed in principal to an embargo on Iranian oil imports, but fell back on an apparent lack of concrete details.

Futures rose 1.2% in just six minutes, rising from $102.49 to $103.74, on word that EU officials agreed to an Iran oil ban. But futures lost some of those gains after it was revealed there was no start date to the sanctions, and that the form of the sanctions were still under study.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled 26 cents higher at $103.22. Gold futures rose for a third consecutive session, overcoming pressure from a stronger dollar as investors moved to the metal as a safe-harbor from political tensions over a potential oil embargo targeting Iran.

The most actively traded gold contract, for February delivery, rose $12.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,612.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold pushed into positive territory after reports that European Union countries had agreed in principle to launch an oil embargo on Iran. Discussion continues over details such as timing and implementation, but the news sparked a sustained rise in gold.