Good morning traders!

In the US last night, the Dow fell 76 points to 15,178, the Nasdaq lost 20 points at
3,445 and the S&P500 shed 9 points at 1,631.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently down 223 points at 13,310 and the Hang Seng
off 182 points at 22,103.

WTI crude oil traded at $93.80 a barrel and Brent crude at $103.24.

Gold settled at $1,400 an ounce.

Good hunting!

G.

Asian shares hit 2013 lows as Fed stimulus jitters weigh

TOKYO | Wed Jun 5, 2013 3:55am BST
(Reuters) - Asian shares slipped to their lowest this year on Wednesday as uncertainty over when the U.S. Federal Reserve would begin scaling down its massive stimulus programme fanned worries about funds flowing out of the region.

The mood was soured by a drop in U.S. stocks overnight on worries over a shift in the Fed's current policy, but the prospect of less monetary stimulus underpinned the dollar.

Japan PM targets income gains in growth strategy

TOKYO | Wed Jun 5, 2013 5:59am BST
(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Wednesday to raise incomes by three percent annually over 10 years and set up special economic zones to attract foreign technology, people and funds as part of his strategy to revitalise the world's third-biggest economy.

An income boost is vital to the success of Abe's ambitious programme aimed at ending years of entrenched deflation and decades of economic stagnation. Abe unveiled the income target in a speech on Wednesday along with other steps to be included in a package to be approved by the cabinet on June 14.

The Bank of Japan's sweeping monetary expansion campaign announced in April targets achieving 2 percent inflation in less than 2 years, and analysts say wages will have to move higher to put the economy and consumer prices on a sustainable upward track.

Morning All,

Another Ex. divi down day then.

Yep - FTSE currently @6,512, Nikkei 13,08013012.

Spanish Services PMI 47.3 45.3 44.4

Italian Services PMI 46.5 47.5 47.0

FTSE100 firmly lower in early deals as sentiment suffers

GBP Services PMI 54.9 53.1 52.9

UK service sector grows much faster than expected in May - CIPS/Markit

(Reuters) - Britain's service sector grew much faster than expected in May with new business increasing at its fastest rate in over three years, a survey showed on Wednesday, showing that the economy is picking up speed.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for services, produced by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, rose to 54.9 in May from 52.9 in April.

That was the strongest reading since March 2012 and easily beat the top forecast of 53.6 in a Reuters poll of 30 economists. The median forecast was 53.0.

EUR Retail Sales m/m -0.5% -0.2% -0.2%

EUR Revised GDP q/q -0.2% -0.2% -0.2%

FTSE100 sharply lower midday as the bears take up the baton

Analysis - As Facebook grows up, grand ambitions get reality check

SAN FRANCISCO | Wed Jun 5, 2013 12:06pm BST
(Reuters) - Facebook, which once seemed poised to take over the Internet, is showing its limitations: a host of newer services are gaining ground among trend-setting youth; a much-hyped smartphone app has received a tepid response; and grand ambitions such as taking on Google in the search business seem ever more fanciful.

In a volatile Internet industry where companies can rise and fall almost overnight, one might even say that the nine-year-old Facebook Inc is suffering a mid-life crisis.

USD ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 135K 171K 119K

CAD Building Permits m/m 10.5% -2.3% 8.6%

USD Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q 0.5% 0.7% 0.7%

USD Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q -4.3% 0.5% 0.5%

USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 53.7 53.4 53.1

USD Factory Orders m/m 1.0% 1.6% -4.9%

FTSE 100 plummets almost one hundred and forty points lower