FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a fourth straight day as confusion over Greece's political future extended the recent stock slide. The blue-chip Dow lost 33.45 points, or 0.26%, to 12598.55, to finish at the day's lows.

The slide, which eroded an early gain of 91 points, handed the index its 10th decline in the past 11 sessions. Since the beginning of May, the Dow has lost 4.7%, and now sits at a four-month low.

The Standard Poor's 500-stock index fell 5.86 points, or 0.44%, to 1324.80, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 19.72 points, or 0.68%, to 2874.04.

Financial and materials stocks dragged the markets lower. Bank of America lost 2.6% to $7.11 and J.P. Morgan Chase fell 2.2% to 35.46. Alcoa declined 2.5% to 8.49. General Electric was a bright spot for the Dow, rising 3.3%, to 19.00 after announcing two acquisitions and reporting good news at its finance unit.

Stocks initially pushed higher after economic data showed home building was stronger than expected the past two months, while April's industrial output had its biggest monthly jump since December.

Stocks pushed back into positive territory in choppy trading after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee last month.

Gains evaporated after Fed officials indicated they aren't planning to take any immediate new actions to spur economic growth. J.C. Penney fell 20% to 26.75 to lead the S&P 500 decliners after the department-store chain reported a wider than expected first-quarter loss and revenue that missed estimates, and said it will discontinue its quarterly dividend of 20 cents a share.

Abercrombie & Fitch slumped 13% to 39.50 after the apparel retailer reported revenue that missed estimates.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

In a sign of rising anxiety among Greeks, depositors withdrew EUR700 million (about $891 million) from local banks Monday. Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to soothe investor fears by saying in an interview on CNBC that Germany was determined to keep Greece in the euro zone, though reports suggesting that the ECB could stop operations with some Greek banks compounded the confusion.

European stocks struggled Wednesday to shake off the fallout from the political impasse in Greece. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 0.6% lower at 245.59.

Greek stocks remained under pressure as officials set elections for June 17, after political parties failed to form a coalition government. That delay could deprive the country of much needed international aid.

The news has also triggered fresh worries that Greece could exit the euro zone. Shares of National Bank of Greece SA sank 13.5%, driving the Athens General Index down 1.3% to 555.42.

The European Central Bank's mixed reactions to appease the banking sector or not created more anxiety in the markets. Earlier in the day the ECB said it would continue funding Greek banks, on the contrary the Wall Street Journal reported, that it was going to freeze such funding.

The market also eyed media reports that said banks in Greece are suffering from a big capital flight amid the crisis, and that some insolvent banks were already cut off from ECB operations.

Other factors eased some of the selling pain: auctions in France and Germany went slightly better than expected, and euro-zone trade data were encouraging.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved legislation allowing the setting-up of Europe's permanent bailout fund, according to media reports.

Markets were also weighing Tuesday comments by Merkel and new French President Francois Hollande, who met in Berlin Tuesday and spoke of keeping Greece in the currency bloc and the European Union.

Luxury goods ranked as a top-performing sector, while major diversified food groups, tobacco and banks weighed on the downside somewhat.

Luxury stocks rose across Europe after Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA said it would launch a share buyback as it reported record profit and sales for the year to March 31. Its shares rallied 8%. French stocks rebounded in afternoon trade.

Energy major Total SA bounced back from earlier losses, up 1.6%, helping push the French CAC 40 index 0.3% higher to 3,048.67. Credit Agricole SA jumped 2.2% after Societe Generale upgraded its shares to buy from sell.

Luxury-goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton rose 0.5%, on the heels of Richemont's gains. In Germany, the DAX 30 index fell 0.3% to 6,384.26. Steel and industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG fell 2.7%. London's resource-heavy FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to 5,405.25. The Portugal PSI 20 index fell 1.9% to 4,890.13. Banco Espirito Santo SA's shares fell 7.8%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian markets tumbled Wednesday, led by a 3.2% fall for the Hong Kong index, on worries Greece is edging closer to an exit from the euro zone after week-long coalition talks failed to form a government.

Markets in Hong Kong and Singapore kicked slightly higher in the afternoon, after European bourses started trading, but the move proved short-lived and stocks soon resumed their slide as investors waited on euro-zone trade and consumer price data.

Japan's Nikkei fell below 8800 for the first time since Feb. 1, finishing the day down 1.1% at 8801.17. Korea's Kospi dropped 3.1% to 1840.53 and the China Shanghai SE Composite dropped 1.2% to 2346.19.

Hong Kong slumped to a four-month low of 19259.83 with snack maker Want Want China Holdings dropping 3.6% and telecoms company China Unicom sinking 6.5%. Fashion retailer Esprit Holdings, which gets around 80% of its revenue from Europe, dropped 5.5%.

Financials led the losses in China after state-run Shanghai Securities News reported the big four state-owned banks barely issued any new yuan loans in the first two weeks of May, citing unnamed sources.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China was down 0.7% at CNY4.30, China Construction Bank fell 1.7% to CNY4.51, Bank of China lost 0.7% to CNY3.00 and Agricultural Bank of China ended 0.7% lower at CNY2.67.

The four usually account for 30% of new yuan loans issued by the whole banking system. Euro-zone-exposed Japanese exporters dropped on a lower euro against the yen. Nikon lost 3.3% to Y2,322. Sony declined 0.9% to Y1,118.

Canon dropped 1.0% to Y3,375. Auto makers were also among leading decliners in Japan. Toyota Motor fell 2.1% to Y3,100 and Honda Motor lost 2.1% to Y2,600.

In Korea, Technology stocks helped drag down the Kospi. Samsung Electronics slid 6.2% and chipmaker SK Hynix plunged 8.9%. In addition to the fear of poor growth in export markets, investors were worried by a report in Digitimes that said Apple has placed a large order for mobile DRAM chips with Japan's Elpida.

COMMODITIES

Copper closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday as investors continued to shy away from risk-related assets amid persistent concerns over the euro zone.

At the close, LME 3-month copper was 1.5% lower on the day at $7,649 a metric ton, having earlier fallen to a four-and-a-half month low at $7,625/ton. LME three-month aluminum was 0.5% higher at $2,035/ton and three-month nickel was near flat at $17,000/ton.

Crude-oil prices fell 1.2% to a fourth-consecutive 2012 low Wednesday, as U.S. crude inventories stood at a 22-year high. Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled $1.17 lower, at $92.81 a barrel.

The settlement was $1 above the session low, which was hit overnight after the American Petroleum Institute said crude-oil stocks rose 6.6 million barrels in the latest week.

That was well beyond analysts' expectations of a 1.4-million-barrel rise. The more-widely watched Energy Information Administration data midmorning showed a more moderate rise of 2.1 million barrels but prices nevertheless held much of their decline.

Gold futures slumped for the 11th time in 13 trading sessions, ending at a 10-month low as worries about Europe's debt crisis and investor demand for the dollar spurred a flight from precious metals.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, fell $20.50, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,536.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the lowest settlement price for a most-active contract since July.