FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks rose broadly, moving to within striking distance of a multi-year high, as investors were bolstered by solid manufacturing reports around the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 145 points, or 1.2%, to 12778 in early Wednesday afternoon trade, a day after key domestic indexes notched their strongest January gains in more than a decade.

The Dow is within 40 points of overtaking last year's highs, enough to set the blue-chip index at its highest level since May 2008. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock rose 17 points, or 1.3%, to 1330 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 41 points, or 1.5%, to 2855.

All 10 S&P 500 sectors and all but one Dow component traded in positive territory. Leading the gains were financial and industrial stocks. Bank of America rose 4.1% to lead the Dow components, while Boeing added 2.1% and United Technologies gained 2.2%. Technology stocks were also vibrant, with Hewlett-Packard up 3.1%.

The gains were driven by signs that U.S. employment and global manufacturing are sustaining their recent strength. The U.S. added 170,000 new private-sector jobs in January, in line with economists' expectations, though the previous month's total was revised lower. The reading is seen as a preview to the closely watched government employment report due Friday. Separately, a reading on U.S. manufacturing came in at 54.1 for January, a touch below expectations. Construction spending, however, jumped 1.5% in December, better than expectations for a 0.5% rise.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European stocks rose Wednesday, lifted by banks and oil companies, after manufacturing data from China, Germany, the U.K. and the euro zone came in slightly better than expected.

The Stoxx 600 index closed 2% higher at 259.51, a six-month high, extending gains from Tuesday, when markets rallied after 25 European leaders agreed on a fiscal compact. Italian banks surged as yields on 10-year Italian government bonds fell 22 basis points to 5.64%.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA jumped 10.2%, Banco Popolare S.C. rose 10.9%, Banca Popolare di Milano S.C.A.R.L added 9.4% and Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna S.C.A.R.L advanced 7.8%, all helping lift the FTSE MIB index 2.8% to 16,264.55.

London's FTSE 100 index added 1.9% to 5,790.72, France's CAC 40 index advanced 2.1% to 3,367.46 and Germany's DAX 30 index ended up 2.4% to 6,616.64.

European shares extended gains Wednesday after data showed that the ISM manufacturing index climbed to 54.1% in January, while U.S. nonfarm private employment rose 170,000 in January.

Markets were further buoyed by manufacturing data from Germany, the U.K. and the euro zone. The German Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.0 in January from 48.4 in December, slightly beating consensus expectations.

Euro-zone PMI rose to 48.8 in January, above the earlier flash estimate of 48.7, while U.K. PMI hit an eight-month high of 52.1 in January, up from a revised reading of 49.7 in December. Gold, silver, copper and aluminum prices were up, lifting the mining sector to solid gains.

Glencore International PLC jumped 5%, Fresnillo PLC gained 4%, Xstrata PLC added 4.2%, Vedanta Resources PLC rose 4.7% and Kazakhmys PLC was up 4.8%. Heavyweight oil companies also added to the positive mood.

Lundin Petroleum AB advanced 4.8%, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S gained 4.3%, BP PLC rose 2.6%, Cairn Energy PLC added 3.6% and BG Group PLC advanced 1.4%. Investors were further eyeing progress in debt talks in Greece, as negotiations between the private creditors and the government to write down debt are yet to be concluded.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS
Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note following a choppy trading session Wednesday as data on Chinese manufacturing activity led to expectations Beijing may not immediately ease its monetary policy.

China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.1% to 2,268.08 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.3% to 20,333.37. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi ended up 0.2% to 1,959.24, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.1% higher at 8,809.79, and Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.4% to 7,549.21.

China's official Purchasing Managers' Index was reported at 50.5 in January, up from 50.3 in December and beating expectations for a drop to 49.5. However, a separate, private-sector survey by HSBC put the January PMI at 48.8, also up a little from December's 48.7 reading, but below the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction. Commodity and property related stocks were broadly lower in Shanghai, where Jiangxi Copper Co. dropped 3.8%, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. shed 3.4% and property major Gemdale Corp. lost 1.3%.

In Hong Kong, some local property stocks declined after the special administrative region's Financial Secretary John Tsang proposed in his annual budget address that the government continue to increase the supply of land.

Shares of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. gave up 0.9%, and Sino Land Co. fell 3.6%. In Tokyo, shares of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. dropped 1.8%, and Shinsei Bank Ltd. fell 2.3%, after each reported relatively weak financial results late Tuesday. But gains in banking shares supported the broader Japanese market, with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. rising 3.4% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advancing 2.9%.

COMMODITIES
Base metals closed mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday after robust manufacturing data from around the globe bolstered demand for industrial commodities.

The growth-sensitive metals, which have wide applications in the manufacturing sector, climbed alongside the euro and regional equity markets as safe-haven assets lost ground.

LME three month copper, widely viewed as an industry bellwether, ended the session at $8,439 a metric ton, up 1.4% on Tuesday's PM kerb close.

Three-month aluminum closed up 1.3% at $2,265/ton. Tin was the only metal to close the PM kerb lower Wednesday, paring recent gains after recording a near-five-month high Jan. 27. Crude-oil futures fell Wednesday after the government said oil inventories rose more than expected last week, while demand for refined fuels sank.

U.S. oil inventories rose 4.2 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The figure was larger than the three-million-barrel increase expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, while an indicator for refined-fuel demand fell to its lowest level in 13 years.

Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery settled 87 cents lower at $97.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold climbed to its highest level in almost two months as investors sought the precious metal as an alternative to the weakening U.S. dollar after a batch of upbeat global economic data. Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $9.10, or 0.5%, at $1,749.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Dec. 2.