Jan 3 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 6,061.3-3.8NZX 50**8,398.08 -10.45DJIA**24,797.4477.47 NIKKEI**22,764.94-19.04Nasdaq**6,997.17593.941FTSE**7,648.1-39.67S&P 500** 2,691.50 17.87 Hang Seng** 30,515.31596.16SPI 200 Fut 6,026.00.07STI** 3,430.327.38SSEC**3,349.05241.8799 KOSPI** 2,479.65 12.16-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --BondsNet ChngBondsNet ChngJP 10 YR Bond 0.047-0.003KR 10 YR Bond 2.4880.021AU 10 YR Bond 2.7140.042 US 10 YR Bond 2.4633 0.05NZ 10 YR Bond 2.7850.035 US 30 YR Bond 2.8105 0.069-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Currencies Net Chng Net ChngSGD US$ 1.329-0.0081 KRW US$ 1,061.91 -3.68AUD US$ 0.7831 0.0026NZD US$ 0.7107 0.0003EUR US$ 1.2054 0.0046Yen US$ 112.27 -0.37THB US$ 32.42-0.13 PHP US$ 49.76-0.145IDR US$ 13,515 -50 INR US$ 63.45-0.225MYR US$ 4.018-0.026TWD US$ 29.628 -0.22CNY US$ 6.4949 -0.0120 HKD US$ 7.8144 0.0018-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- CommoditiesNet Chng Net ChngSpot Gold 1,317.56 15.11 Silver (Lon)17.190.244U.S. Gold Fut 1,319.610.3Brent Crude 66.57-0.30Iron OreCNY544 4 TRJCRB Index194.7155 0.8508TOCOM RubberJPY207 0.3 LME Copper7,205.0-42.0--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
** indicates closing price
All prices as of 20:31 GMT
EQUITIES
GLOBAL - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2018, while Wall Street advanced and the U.S. dollar fell to its weakest in over three months against key currencies.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.61 percent. The index had set scores of record highs and rose by one-fifth in value in 2017.
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NEW YORK - Wall Street's major indexes were higher on the first trading session of 2018 on Tuesday, driven by gains in technology and consumer discretionary stocks, setting the stage for another robust year for equities.
At 12:28 p.m. ET (1728 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 49.97 points, or 0.2 percent, at 24,769.19 and the S&P 500 was up 16.7 points, or 0.62 percent, at 2,690.31. The Nasdaq Composite was up 82.61 points, or 1.2 percent, at 6,986.00.
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LONDON -European stocks faltered at the start of the trading year on Tuesday as autos stocks fell and strength in the euro weighed, while trading was cautious ahead of the launch of a major reform of European Union financial markets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index dipped 0.2 percent, as did euro zone stocks .
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average erased early modest gains and ended slightly lower on its final trading day of the year on Friday, but the index still gained nearly 20 percent in 2017.
The Nikkei ended the day down 0.08 percent at 22,764.94 points, while the broader Topix was also down 0.08 percent at 1,817.56.
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SHANGHAI - China stocks started 2018 on a bullish note following a survey showing better-than-expected manufacturing activity in December.
The Shanghai Composite index closed up 41.88 points or 1.27 percent at 3,349.05.
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AUSTRALIA - Australian shares are set to edge up on Wednesday after a quiet entry into the year, with investors expected to take Wall Street's strong start to 2018 with cheer.
Material stocks are likely to buoy the Australian market, riding on a rally in oil and metal prices.
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SEOUL - South Korea's KOSPI stock index rose on Tuesday.
At 06:32 GMT, the KOSPI was up 12.16 points or 0.49 percent at 2,479.65. The benchmark index rose on strong foreign purchases.
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar dropped on Tuesday to its lowest in more than three months, weighed down on the first trading day of 2018 by expectations of a slower pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve amid a tepid U.S. inflation picture.
The dollar index hit a 3-1/2-month trough of 91.751 and was last down 0.3 percent at 91.887 . For 2017, the dollar index slid more than 9.8 percent, its weakest since 2003.
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CHINA - China's yuan rose to its firmest against the U.S. dollar in nearly four months in thin trade on Tuesday, breaching a key threshold, supported by a stronger fixing and broad dollar weakness.
The firmer fixing lifted spot yuan higher. The onshore yuan opened at 6.5030 per dollar, breaching the psychologically important 6.5 per dollar level and rose to a high of 6.4922 at one point, the firmest since Sept. 8.
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AUSTRALIA - The Australian and New Zealand dollars held firm on Tuesday as an unexpectedly upbeat survey of Chinese manufacturing activity and broad softness in their U.S. counterpart augured well for Antipodean commodity exports.
The Aussie dollar made a two-month top of $0.7827 before running into resistance. The next chart targets are $0.7884 and $0.7898, both peaks from October. The kiwi held at $0.7102 , just off last week's high at $0.7124.
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SEOUL - The Korean won climbed to the highest closing level in more than three years against the dollar while bond yields fell.
The won was quoted at 1,061.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.88 percent firmer than its previous close at 1,070.5. The currency was boosted by expectations for improved relations on the Korean peninsula after Pyongyang said on Monday it was open to dialogue with the South. Additionally, South Korea's finance minister said on Tuesday the government will take action to stabilise the foreign exchange market if needed.
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday in line with European government yields after comments from a European Central Bank official who said the central bank's massive bond purchase program might not continue later this year.
At 10:50 a.m. (1550 GMT), the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up 4 basis points at 2.452 percent following a 2 basis-point dip last year.
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LONDON - Borrowing costs across the euro area shot higher on Tuesday as a cut in monthly ECB asset purchases became a reality, with hawkish comments from a top official and strong data hurting sentiment towards bonds on the first trading day of the year.
Germany's 10-year bond yields rose 2.5 basis points to 0.46 percent , the highest since late October. German 30-year bond yields jumped almost 5 bps to 1.31 percent , their highest since mid-November, before dropping to 1.24 percent by late trading.
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TOKYO - Japanese government bond prices dipped on Friday, weighed by stronger Tokyo equities and weaker U.S. Treasuries.
The 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.055 percent. The benchmark yield was poised to end the year almost unchanged, having been stuck in a narrow range under the Bank of Japan's yield curve control scheme.
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GOLD
Gold extended its rally into the new year on Tuesday, touching late September highs on a softer U.S. dollar, while spot palladium jumped to a record on fears of short supplies after soaring 57 percent in 2017.
Spot gold was up 1 percent at $1,315.11 per ounce at 2:36 p.m. EST (1936 GMT) after hitting $1,315.46, the highest since Sept. 20, 2017. Gold has risen each trading session since Dec. 15.
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IRON ORE
Chinese steel futures rose on the first trading day of the new year, but concerns remain about tepid consumption in the world's top consumer.
Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the first trading day up 2.6 percent at 543.5 yuan a tonne.
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BASE METALS
Zinc scaled 10-year peaks on Tuesday as the market focused on looming deficits due to falling supplies, but gains were capped as prices are at levels which are likely to encourage investment in new output.
Benchmark zinc ended up 0.9 percent at $3,349 a tonne from an earlier $3,352, its highest since August 2007, before the financial crisis hit demand for the metal used to galvanise steel.
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OIL
Oil prices hit mid-2015 highs in early trading on Tuesday but dipped to settle slightly lower as major pipelines in Libya and the UK restarted and U.S production soared to the highest level in more than four decades.
Brent crude futures , the international benchmark, settled 30 cents, or 0.5 percent lower at $66.57 a barrel. The session high of $67.29 was the highest since May 2015.
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PALM OIL
Malaysian palm oil futures rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday evening, tracking related edible oils and supported by improving export demand.
The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1.2 percent to 2,532 ringgit ($630.16) a tonne at the end of the trading day. It earlier hit 2,548 ringgit, its highest since Dec. 18.
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RUBBER
Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures fell for a third consecutive session on Friday and were poised for a decline of about 20 percent this year with plentiful supplies across Asia weighing on the market.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery closed down 1.4 percent at 206.7 yen per kg. Key Shanghai futures ended trading 0.2 percent lower at 14,105 yuan per tonne.
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(Bengaluru Bureau; +91 80 6749 1130)Keywords: MORNINGCALL/
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