1.   Bond futures sank after the rise in stocks gained speed in early afternoon trading, as optimism over a stronger dollar boosted exporter shares.

2.   Bargain hunting of technology shares pushed the benchmark into positive territory in afternoon trading, traders said.

3.   Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar fell following the report about interest rates but recovered somewhat in afternoon trading in Tokyo.

4.   Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were lower in early afternoon trading Monday.

5.   Copper prices ended the day unchanged on Tuesday, after some early gains sparked by a drop in market reserves evaporated in afternoon trading, dealers said.

6.   They expected afternoon trading to be dominated by the release of US data, including industrial production and trade figures.

7.   The dollar remained steady against the mark in afternoon trading with profit-taking undercutting earlier gains from stop-loss dollar buying, dealers said.

8.   The dollar was spinning its wheels Wednesday in afternoon trading on a quiet market amid cross-trading involving the yen and the German mark.