From MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as investors considered weaker-than-expected retail sales data and watched for progress in Europe over Greece's debt.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 49 points, or 0.4%, to 12824 in afternoon New York trade. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 7 points, or 0.5%, to 1344 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 13 points, or 0.5%, to 2918. Materials stocks led sector declines, followed by financials.

Among blue chips, Bank of America fell 3%, while Alcoa slipped 2.1%. Stocks opened lower after data on U.S. retail sales in January fell short of expectations. Retail and food-service sales rose 0.4% last month to a seasonally adjusted $401.4 billion, below an increase of 0.9% anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Auto sales dragged on the data, an indication of consumer caution. A separate report showed U.S. business inventories grew slightly less than expected in December, while import prices rose in line with expectations in January.

Major indexes extended losses modestly early in the afternoon after Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said the euro-zone finance ministers won't meet in Brussels Wednesday to discuss Greece's second bailout, but instead will hold a conference call.

Late Monday, Moody's Investors Service downgraded a number of European sovereign-debt ratings, including those of Spain, Italy and Portugal, and cut its outlook on triple-A-rated France, the U.K. and Austria, though the moves failed to rattle U.S. stocks. Michael Kors Holdings rose 22% after the company beat fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, and provided an upbeat revenue outlook for the current quarter. Masco fell 13% after fourth-quarter sales grew less-than-expected.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European stock markets finished a choppy session in negative territory Tuesday, erasing gains after U.S. data showed retail sales for January rose less than expected and as investors digested a fresh crop of downgrades by Moody's Investors Service.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.2% to finish at 262.56, after trading as high as 264.08 earlier in the session. Banks, miners and drug makers weighed on sentiment.

Earlier gains in Europe were wiped out after a report showed that retail sales in the U.S. rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected sales to rise 0.9%. Banks led the charge lower across Europe in afternoon trade. KBC Group NV lost 8.1%, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC shed 5.2% and Raiffeisen Bank International AG gave up 5%. National Bank of Greece SA declined 2.8%, helping to drag the Athens General Index 2% lower to 818.10.

Data showed Tuesday that the Greek economy shrank 7% in fourth quarter 2011. Investors also remained cautious toward Greece ahead of a planned Euro-zone finance ministers meeting Wednesday to approve a second bailout for the debt-laden country.

French banks were in the red most of Tuesday. Credit Agricole SA fell 5%, BNP Paribas SA dropped 2.4% and Societe Generale SA lost 3.7%. The CAC 40 index fell 0.3% to 3,375.64. Moody's Investors Service cut its outlook on triple-A rated France, the U.K. and Austria late Monday, while also knocking down Spain's sovereign-debt rating by two notches and downgraded Italy and Portugal by one notch.

Most European indexes started Tuesday on a negative note, but reversed direction in morning trade after the German ZEW expectations index rose sharply to 5.4 in February from minus 21.6 in January.

Economists had forecast a February reading of minus 11.6. The German DAX 30 index rose after the news, but ended the day down 0.2% at 6,728.19. Weighing on the index, industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG lost 3.8% after reporting a larger-than-expected loss in its fiscal first quarter due to a ramp-up of new steel mills in Brazil and the U.S.

Elsewhere, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 0.1% to 5,899.87, pulled down by heavyweight mining stocks as base and precious metals lost territory.

Rio Tinto PLC shed 3.1%, Anglo American PLC fell 1.6%, and Xstrata PLC declined more than 2%. Among other notable decliners in Europe Tuesday, Stoxx 600 heavyweight drug stocks Novo Nordisk AS declined 0.7%, while Roche Holding AG fell 1.2% as Citigroup downgraded the stock to neutral, citing competitive risk to three of the company's drugs.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian stock markets closed mixed Tuesday, with Seoul and Shanghai falling after European credit-rating cuts, but with Tokyo and Hong Kong reversing from early losses to end higher.

China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.3% to 2344.77, and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% to 2002.64. But a rally in property shares helped Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shake off losses to record a 0.1% gain to 20,917.83, while a surprise monetary easing in Japan sent the Nikkei Stock Average 0.6% higher to 9052.07 at the close.

Almost all the major markets had begun the day with losses after Moody's Investor Service downgraded the debt of Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Malta by one notch, slashed Spain's rating by two notches, and lowered its outlook on the U.K., France and Austria.

Resource firms were among the notable decliners across Asia. Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. dropped 2.4%, Zijin Mining Group Co. slumped 3.3%, and Angang Steel Co. lost 4.1% in Hong Kong.

But a robust rally in property shares helped support the market there, with China Resources Land Ltd. rising 4.1%, Henderson Land Development Co. jumping 6%, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. rising 3.5%, and New World Development Co. surging 6.4%.

In Tokyo, the major benchmarks shot into positive territory after the Bank of Japan surprised the market by expanding its asset-purchase program. The move sent the yen lower, relieving pressure on some export-focused firms. TDK Corp. climbed 2%, and Canon Inc. rose 1.5%. Auto makers likewise climbed, with Toyota Motor Corp. adding 1.8%, Suzuki Motor Corp. rising 1.5%, and Nissan Motor Co. up 0.9%.

COMMODITIES

Base metal prices ended lower Tuesday after U.S. retail sales figures disappointed, offsetting the release of upbeat German sentiment data earlier in the global day.

A subsequent strengthening of the greenback added to the downward pressure on the metals, which are denominated in dollars and as such tend to share a negative correlation with the U.S. currency. LME three-month copper ended the PM kerb at $8,415 a metric ton, down 0.1% on previous close.

The red metal had earlier traded as high as $8,479.50/ton, lifted after a report by the Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW, showed German economic expectations turned positive in February for the first time since May 2011.

U.S. crude oil futures settled lower Tuesday, shedding earlier gains on a report of a delay in the formal signing of Greece's debt deal, which had been expected Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 17 cents lower at $100.74 a barrel, after earlier reaching as high as $101.84 a barrel.

Gold futures settled lower to log their third losing session in a row, as pressure from a rally in the U.S. dollar outweighed support from weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales and uncertainty over whether Greece will get a second bailout. Gold for April delivery fell $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,717.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.