4:00PM NY – 10:00 PM Germany
Sharp fall in oil price of 4.5% and lower than expected rise in core-CPI fueled late hour rally in New York for the second day in a row.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.651% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.732%.

Gold decreased $2.90 to close at $618.80 a troy ounce, silver declined 0.10 cents to end at $12.845 a troy ounce and copper lost 1.65 cents to close at 305.85 cents an lb.

Oil decreased $2.50 to close at $56.26 a barrel and heating oil declined 3.09 cents to finish at 166.15 cents a gallon. Gasoline lost 5.71 cents to end at 152.50 cents a gallon. Natural gas was down 38.5 cents to close at $7.735 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed mostly higher led by Philippines with a gain of 0.97%, Malaysia with an advance of 0.90% and Singapore with an increase of 0.75%. The decliners were led by Australia with a decrease of 0.65%, Japan with a loss of 0.49% and South Korea with a decline of 0.13%. Stocks in Japan declined on profit-taking and concerns about interest rates, while Hong Kong advanced because of gains in the banking sector and India rose on cement companies gained.

European markets finished mostly higher led by an increase of 0.59% in Norway, an advance of 0.47% in Spain and a gain of 0.40% in U.K. The decliners were led by Netherlands with a decrease of 0.20%, a loss of 0.19% in Belgium and a decline of 0.11% in France. European markets ended mostly higher on some well-received U.S. inflation figures. Russia’s main index rose 0.5%.

Latin America markets ended lower led by Argentina with a decline of 1.38%, followed by Brazil and Canada with a decrease of 0.31%. The only advancer was Mexico with an increase of 0.17%.

1:00PM European markets closed mostly higher.
European stock markets finished mostly higher on Thursday, reflecting strong auto stocks and well-received U.S. inflation data. However, disappointing financial results from chipmaker Infineon Technologies, bank BNP Paribas and publisher Reed Elsevier limited the upward trend. The German DAX 30 rose 0.2%, as gains for Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler offset weakness in the shares of Infineon Technologies. The chipmaker dropped 2.3% after it said its quarterly results were weighed down by charges for the carve-out of memory-chip unit Qimonda. The upbeat U.S. consumer price inflation data lifted interest-rate sensitive stocks like Deutsche Bank, up 0.6%. London FTSE 100 climbed 0.4%, boosted by 6.7% gain for electricity grid operator National Grid. Shares of Anglo-Dutch media conglomerate Reed Elsevier, lost 4.6% because of a weak textbook market. The French CAC 40 edged down 0.1%, dragged by weakness in the banking sector after BNP Paribas dropped 2%, even after reporting a stronger-than-forecast 25% profit rise. Rivals Societe Generale and Credit Agricole also closed lower.


Crude oil prices were steady below $59. Crude oil December contract fell 16 cents to $58.60 a barrel. Heating oil added 3 cents to $1.72 a gallon, while gasoline lost 2 cents to $1.57. Natural gas futures fell 24 cents to $7.08 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 20 cents to $60.81. The U.S. dollar traded higher against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2807, down from $1.2823. The dollar bought 118.11 yen, up from 118.05. The British pound was unchanged at $1.8892. European gold prices recovered from recent decline. In London, gold traded at $624.40 per troy ounce, up from $621. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $623.35 per ounce, up from $620.20. Silver closed at $13.05, up from $12.75.


11:30AM Applied Materials weighed on tech stocks.
U.S. stocks reversed from earlier gains and turned mixed in late Friday trading, with the Nasdaq falling below the unchanged line, while the Dow and the S&P 500 trading in positive territory. The market welcomed news that consumer price inflation eased in October, but bellwether Applied Materials hurt sentiment with disappointing quarterly results.

Applied Materials (AMAT: chart) weighed on the tech sector, falling 4.8% after the maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment reported a weaker-than-expected Q3 profit. The company also lowered its guidance for Q4. Dell Inc. (DELL: chart) was another drag on the Nasdaq, falling fell 4.6% after the computer maker delayed its Q3 earnings report as the SEC started a formal investigation into the company.

Sears Holdings (SHLD: chart) said that Q3 profits more than tripled, boosted by $101 million in investment income and cost-cutting. Earnings jumped to $1.27 per share, up from 35 cents per share a year earlier, beating analyst expectations of 98 cents. However, company’s sales continued to decline. Revenues dropped to $11.9 billion from $12.2 billion. Same-store sales fell 4.8% at Sears stores. Company’s shares dropped 4.6% in morning trading. Williams-Sonoma (WSM: chart) tumbled 8.1% after the seller of home furnishings reported a 21% drop in Q3 profit. The company also lowered its Q4 forecast.

In deal news, Clear Channel (CCL: chart) agreed to be acquired for about $18.7 billion by an investment group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC. The deal includes about $8 billion in debt. Clear Channel gained 3.9%. Reader's Digest (RDA: chart) rose 7.1% after it accepted an acquisition bid for about $1.61 billion by an investment consortium led by private equity group Ripplewood Holdings LLC. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 28.25, up 0.23%, at 12,279.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.49, up 0.25%, at 1,400.06, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 1.80, or 0.07%, at 2,440.95. Bonds showed little movement, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.62% from late Wednesday.

10:30AM The Sensex rises for the sixth consecutive day on banks, cement shares.
The Sensex on BSE advanced 36.52 points, or 0.27%, to end at 13,505.89. The market was highly volatile. The BSE Sensex traded withing a range of 129 points for the day. The market-breadth was positive in early trading but turned negative due to weak small-caps. As 1,537 shares declined on BSE, 1,009 advanced and 62 stocks were unchanged. For every two advancers, there were three decliners. From the Sensex stocks 12 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 6,110 crore, higher than Rs 5,088 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 10,321.46 crore, much higher than Rs 8,768.6 crore on Wednesday.

Economic news

Strong macro economic fundamentals and erasing of the revenue deficit are pre-requisites for moving toward capital account convertibility, former RBI Deputy Governor S. S. Tarapore, who headed the Committee on Fuller Capital Account Convertibility asserted.

Most active stocks

Gujarat Ambuja Cement was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 716.88 crore. It was followed by Hindustan Zinc and ACC.