CORRECTED: Gold bounces, Tokyo futures off two-week highs

(Reuters) - SINGAPORE/TOKYO - Gold bounced in cautious trade on Thursday after falling more than 1 percent in New York, while Tokyo futures tracked losses in New York and traded below two-week highs hit the previous day.




Other precious metals were mixed, with a late rebound in Japanese platinum futures <0#JPL:> spurring gains in the cash price. Spot platinum had rallied to its highest in nearly two weeks on Wednesday on supply concerns.


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Rand steady after c/act data release

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar after current account data for the first quarter narrowed slightly from the previous quarter.

The local currency was trading at 7.1400 against the greenback at 0931 GMT, from 7.1650 at 0900 GMT, the release time for the Reserve Bank's latest quarterly bulletin.


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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Dow Jones, Oakley, Google Gain in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures climbed as
investors speculated a manufacturing report and a gauge of
leading indicators will indicate economic growth is picking up.

Dow Jones & Co., the owner of the Wall Street Journal,
gained in Europe on expectations takeover talks with News Corp.
might speed up after the publisher's directors took control of
discussions and a new bidder emerged. Shares of Oakley Inc.
jumped after the U.S. sunglassmaker agreed to be acquired by
Luxottica Group SpA for $2.03 billion in cash.


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Asian stocks brush off U.S. fall, oil steady

(Reuters) - The yen bounced along near recent lows against the euro and the dollar and some traders say the low-yielding currency will continue to drift lower.




At the other end of the spectrum, the New Zealand dollar rose to a 22-year-high against the U.S. currency.


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European Stocks Drop; Societe Generale, Tesco, Nokia Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell the most in two
weeks as rising bond yields in the U.S. pushed banks, insurers
and retailers lower.

The gain in yields ``has made stocks look less attractive,''
said Kevin Gardiner, head of global equity strategy at HSBC Bank
Plc. ``Stay clear from consumers in the U.S. and the U.K.''


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Germany's DAX Index Retreats, Led Lower by Merck, SAP, Deutsche Bank

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks dropped, led by Merck
KGaA, SAP AG and Deutsche Bank AG.

The benchmark DAX Index lost 51.28, or 0.6 percent, to
8039.21 as of 9:06 a.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the
country's 110 biggest companies dropped 0.7 percent.


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Zimbabwe imports 60,000T wheat to ease shortage

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe has imported 60,000 tonnes of wheat worth $25 million to ease bread shortages after millers in the crisis-hit southern African country ran out of the grain, the official Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.

Wheat is Zimbabwe's second staple grain, after maize, but the country -- a regional breadbasket before President Robert Mugabe's drive to seize land from whites to resettle landless blacks -- has failed to meet its annual consumption requirements of between 400,000 and 450,000 tonnes.


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