$1=34

($1=34.57 Baht) (Reporting by Manunphattr Dhanananphorn; Writing by KhettiyaJittapong; Editing by Alan Raybould) China Indonesia Japan. May 14 (Reuters) – 3 months to 31 Mar 2009 Group (in EUR millions unless otherwise stated) Latest YearChange Ago in percent After-tax profit-27.9-35.8 +22.1Sales 64.6 207.2 -68.8EBIT-20.6-25.6 +19.5 (Reporting by Sylwester Fratczak in Gdynia, Poland). SOFIA, May 14 (Reuters) – These are some of the main storiesin Bulgarian newspapers on Thursday. But the benchmark was stillup some 19 percent since the start of the year and 45 percentfrom its year low struck in March. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 .SPX shed 2.7 percent, andfutures on that U.S stock index SPc1 were down slightly inAsia Japan’s Nikkei average .N225 fell 2.6 percent.

HongKong’s Hang Seng index .HSI shed 3.2 percent, with HSBC(0005.HK) and China Mobile (0941.HK) — the two biggestheavyweights in the index — leading the decline. In another sign that investors were taking profits, openinterest in Hang Seng futures HSIc1 fell on Wednesday afterreaching its highest level since Oct 8 — at the tail end oflast year’s slide to five-year lows. The dip in open interest and fall-off in volume signalledthat market players were taking chips off the table and werereluctant to chase the market higher. “Even though money is continuing to come into Hong Kong, itis not directly flowing into the stock market anymore,” saidLinus Yip, strategist with First Shanghai Securities in HongKong. Investors are also keeping an eye on the results of India’sgeneral election. The ruling Congress-led coalition is slightlyahead of the opposition Hindu nationalists-led alliance, butboth groups have fallen short of a parliamentary majority,according to early projections.

[ID:nSP437509] The decline in Mumbai’s SENSEX .BSESN was limitedcompared with the rest of the region, shedding 1 percent. DOLLAR LIMPS UP, BONDS JUMP The dollar limped up from a four-month low hit onWednesday, partly on the revival of risk-taking but alsobecause its break through the 200-day moving average againstthe euro sparked wide selling Chart technicals for the U.S. currency have turned negativesince the break of the widely tracked 200-day moving average,which has signalled turning points against the euro in thepast. The euro slipped 0.2 percent to $1.3570 EUR= after havingjumped to $1.3722 the previous day, threatening to push abovethe peak reached in March that would likely add fuel to therise. The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against sixmajor currencies, edged up 0.1 percent to 82.671 .DXY.Against the yen, the dollar was up slightly at 95.70 yenJPY=. The dollar’s slide had reinforced a jump in gold and oilprices Gold was down 75 cents an ounce at $924.70 XAU=,while U.S.

crude CLc1 dipped 44 cents to $57.58 a barrelafter having climbed as high as $60.08 this week Battered bonds recovered as stocks lost ground. JGB futures 2JGBv1 gained 0.44 point at 136.94 afterhaving fallen to their lowest since late October on Wednesday.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield JP10YTN=JBTC was down 2 basispoints to 1.430 percent. South Korean government bonds rebounded sharply in earlytrade after the country’s finance minister said he was notconfident about the improvement in the job market. Korean government bond futures KTBc1 rose 26 ticks,bouncing from a one-month low hit this week. (Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park in Seoul andParvathy Ullatil in Hong Kong; Editing by Kim Coghill) Stocks Currencies Global Markets China Japan South Korea. * Expects FY headline EPS to between 250-260 cents * Basic EPS to between 885-895 cents (Adds details) JOHANNESBURG, May 14 (Reuters) – South Africa’s HoskenConsolidated Investments Ltd (HCIJ.J) expects full-year headlineearnings per share to decline to 250-260 cents from 555 cents ayear ago, the group said on Thursday. The company, which controls leisure firm Johnnic HoldingsJNCJ.J and has a majority stake in commercial TV broadcasteretv, said basic EPS would be between 885-895 cents compared with702 cents in the prior year.