A retracement in equities so far...........>

EQUITIES: A retracement in equities so far Thursday following the relentless

gains of recent days. Asian stocks closed mixed, with Japan's NIKKEI up 81.98

pts or +0.36% at 22695.74 and the TOPIX up 4.74 pts or +0.3% at 1603.82. China's

SHANGHAI closed down 4.121 pts or -0.14% at 2919.25 and the HANG SENG ended

40.68 pts higher or +0.17% at 24366.3.

- European equities are lower, with the German Dax down 73.84 pts or -0.59% at

12422, FTSE 100 down 4.29 pts or -0.07% at 6375.43, CAC 40 down 13.02 pts or

-0.26% at 5006.95 and Euro Stoxx 50 down 18.04 pts or -0.55% at 3253.64.

- U.S. futures are also trading softer, with the Dow Jones mini down 91 pts or

-0.35% at 26151, S&P 500 mini down 12.5 pts or -0.4% at 3106.75, NASDAQ mini

down 18.5 pts or -0.19% at 9672.25.