FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCKS, BOND MARKETS

U.S. stocks finished a volatile day roughly where they started, as investors balanced positive developments in Europe against some disappointment that the Federal Reserve held off on more aggressive action to juice the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 12.94 points, or 0.10%, at 12824.39 after falling as many as 92 points intraday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.29 points, or 0.17%, to 1355.69, to snap a four-day win streak.

The Nasdaq Composite, meantime, inched up 0.69 point, or 0.02%, to 2930.45 to extend its winning streak to five sessions--the longest since January.

The day's gyrations came after the Fed said it would extend its Operation Twist stimulus measure through the end of the year. As part of the program, the central bank sells short-term Treasurys and buys longer-dated ones in an effort to keep long-term borrowing costs down.

Prior to the announcement, Operation Twist was scheduled to end June 30. But some investors had been looking for more, in particular a new commitment to bond buying in response to the U.S.'s exposure to the European debt crisis and fears of a slowing economic recovery in the U.S.

The Fed committee members said in the statement that they were prepared to take further action if needed. The Fed has said since January that it plans to keep short-term interest rates at exceptionally low levels at least through late 2014.

In a press conference later in the afternoon, central bank chairman Ben Bernanke offered little in the way of hints that the Fed was prepared to act imminently, though he said that the Fed still had ammunition to do more.

Consumer staple stocks pulled the major benchmarks down; Procter & Gamble tumbled 2.9% to lead the Dow decliners after the blue-chip consumer products company lowered its earnings outlook for the current quarter and for the next fiscal year.

Leading on the positive side were financial stocks; J. P. Morgan Chase rose 3% to top the list of Dow gainers. Procter & Gamble's rivals, Colgate-Palmolive and Kimberly-Clark, fell 0.6% and 1.9% respectively. Walgreen fell 2.9% in the wake of analyst downgrades following its $6.7 billion deal to buy nearly half of European pharmacy giant Alliance Boots.

EUROPEAN BOND, STOCK MARKETS

European stocks ended higher Wednesday on expectations of further stimulus measures from central banks. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up for a fourth-consecutive trading day, rising 0.6% to 249.67.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished 0.6% higher at 5622.29, Germany's DAX ended up 0.5% at 6392.13 and France's CAC-40 added 0.3% to 3126.52.

In London, the latest Bank of England minutes fueled expectations of another round of quantitative easing and helped markets shake early-session losses.

The minutes showed four of the nine members of the rate-setting committee, including Governor Mervyn King, voted in favor of further bond purchases in June.

Bank stocks were the biggest beneficiaries of stimulus hopes. The Stoxx Europe 600's index for the sector closed up 1.5%.

Among individual stocks, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria rose 3.4%, Societe Generale added 2.9% and UniCredit gained 2.6%.

Indexes in Italy and Spain also rose, as moves in the bond markets there calmed down. Italy's FTSE Mib gained 2.1% to 13732.16, and Spain's IBEX-35 rose 1.5% to 6796.10.

Late Wednesday in Europe, the 10-year Spanish government-bond yield was at 6.72%, while the corresponding Italian yield was at 5.77%. Meanwhile, Greece's ASE ended up 0.5% at 603.04. Greece's New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister Wednesday, after an agreement was reached for a coalition government with the Socialist Pasok party and the Democratic Left.

On the corporate front, Aer Lingus shares surged 15% after Ryanair announced an all-cash bid for the company. Ryanair shares were up 0.8%. Elsewhere, shares of Swedish retailer H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) rose 4.8% after the company posted a 22.5% rise in net profit in the second quarter.

ASIA-PACIFIC BOND, STOCK MARKETS

Asian markets rose Wednesday, with participants hoping for economic stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and a similar policy move in Europe.

Japan's Nikkei Average gained 1.1% to 8752.31, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7% to 1904.12, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.5% to 19518.85, and China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.3% at 2292.88.

Ahead of the Fed decision, financial firms gained sharply across Asia. Hong Kong heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 2.3%, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. jumped 4.5%, and Nomura Holdings Inc. gained 4% in Tokyo.

China Unicom slipped 3.9%, the worst-performing blue chip in Hong Kong, after it added only 2.7 million 3G subscribers in May, down from 2.9 million in April, its lowest addition since September.

SK Hynix gained 4% in South Korea after the chipmaker announced plans to acquire U.S. chip controller Link A Media Devices for $248 million.

In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries fell 3.1% after a report in the Los Angeles Times saying that there are possible design flaws in the company's nuclear plant technology, and that the firm might be partly responsible for a small radioactive leak in a power plant near San Diego.

Tokyo-listed car makers were also notable performers. Suzuki Motor Corp. added 0.9%, while Honda Motor Co. rose 1.1% after Nomura raised its rating to buy from neutral, citing strong finances and earnings structure.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, losing ground late in the session as hopes faded for further stimulus ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate-setting announcement.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 0.8% lower at $7,545 a metric ton. U.S. oil futures sank to their lowest level in eight months Wednesday after the government said oil inventories rose to their highest level since 1990, while gasoline demand in the U.S. fell sharply.

Crude also was weighed down by the Federal Reserve's decision to extend Operation Twist while stopping short of more aggressive measures.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery expired $2.23, or 2.7%, lower at $81.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest finish for the front-month contract since Oct. 5.

The more actively traded August contract fell $2.90, or 3.4%, to settle at $81.45 a barrel. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange settled $3.07, or 3.2%, lower at $92.69 a barrel, its lowest finish since Dec. 17, 2010.

Silver futures bounced back into positive territory while gold pared earlier losses as investors continued to sift through the Federal Reserve's policy statement.

Silver for July delivery, the most active contract, settled up 2.1 cents, or 0.1%, at $28.389 a troy ounce in after-market trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for August delivery, the most active contract, settled down $7.40, or 0.5%, at $1,615.80 a troy ounce.