13:00PM European shares ended flat.
European stock markets finished near the unchanged mark Thursday, as weakness sparked by earnings and sales figures from Nokia, SAP and Nestle was offset by gains from Ericsson and strength among mining stocks. Mobile giant Nokia closed down 6.5% as its Q3 profit fell 4% to 845 million euros, hurt by steeply lower selling prices. Ericsson ended up 1.7% after it said Q3 net profit rose 17% on strong growth at its handset joint venture and a gain from the sale of defense units. Automakers also gained sharply as oil traded near weekly lows. Shares of BMW rose 2.3%, Volkswagen rallied 3.6% and shares of Renault improved 1.6%. The German DAX 30 closed down 0.1% at 6,177.42 as shares of SAP fell 3.1% and chipmaker Infineon Technologies fell 2.2%. The French CAC 40 ended flat at 5,359.74. London FTSE 100 added 0.1% at 6,156.00, helped by resource stocks which gained on the back of stronger gold and copper prices.

Crude oil rose after Saudi Arabia signaled it will support the OPEC’s decision to cut 1 million barrels a day. Oil lost 33 cents to $57.98 a barrel. Heating oil fell 1.4 cents to $1.682 a gallon, while gasoline lost a penny to $1.468. Natural gas futures gained 9 cents to $6.899 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar slipped against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2589, up from $1.2533. The dollar bought 118.25 yen, down from 118.92. The British pound stood at $1.8727, up from $1.8675. European gold prices extended recent rise. In London, gold traded at $596 per troy ounce, up from $592.80. In Zurich the precious metal was traded at $595.55, up from $592.65. Silver traded at $11.95, up from $11.81.


11:30AM Blue chips lifted market sentiment.
U.S. stocks reversed from earlier weakness, lifted by better-than-expected earnings of blue chips Coca-Cola Co. and Pfizer Inc., which helped offset concerns about weak results of some tech companies. The Dow broke through the historical height of 12,000 for a second straight day. Coca Cola (KO: chart) gained 1.6% on better-than-forecast earnings and revenue. Pfizer (PFE: chart) gained about 0.9% after reporting 112% earnings jump. Outside the blue-chip index, Apple Computer (AAPL: chart) was a notable gainer as the maker of the iPod music player surged 6% after a reporting a strong quarter. In contrast, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: chart) tumbled more than 10% on margin and pricing concerns.

Citigroup (C: chart) fell 1% due to some disappointment over its Q3 earnings and revenue performance. McDonald''s Corp. (MCD: chart) said Q3 profit climbed 15%, as revenue grew in double digits and profit margins rose. The stock was off 0.5%. Shares in Honeywell International Inc. (HON: chart) tumbled 4%. The company reported Q3 profit above analyst expectations, but when combined with the increase in its full-year view, it suggests an implied Q4 outlook that would be less than Wall Street expects. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 8.56, or 0.07%, to 12,091.33. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index shed 1.32, or 0.10%, to 1,364.64, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.52, or 0.07%, to 2,335.63. Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.79% from 4.76% late Wednesday.


10:30AM The Sensex plunges as profit-taking takes hold on Thursday.
The Sensex on BSE finished lower Thursday. The benchmark index fell 134.89 points, or 1.05%, to end at 12,723.59. The Sensex traded in a range of 271 points for the day. The market-breadth was negative as 997 shares advanced, 1,1427 declined and 84 stocks remained unchanged. From the 30-issue Sensex stocks, 26 declned, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,441 crore, lower than Rs 3,678 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,310.85 crore.

Economic news

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed confidence on Thursday that the Indian economy, growing at a 8% for the third straight year, will expand by 9-10% annually over the next five years.

Advancers

Grasim Industries led the advancers, gaining 2% to Rs 2,634, after it posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. The net profit jumped 80% to Rs 337.84 crore (Rs 187.65 crore), topping market expectations.

Tech Mahindra surged 12.63% to Rs 770.15, on strong second-quarter results. Its net profit grew to Rs 141 crore from Rs 36.50 crore in second-quarter September 2005. JSW Steel jumped 4.11% to Rs 327.95, following its announcement of 225% surge in net profit for second-quarter September 2006 to Rs 327.95, compared to Rs 106.29 crore for second-quarter September 2005.

Steel maker Ispat Industries jumped 4.72% to Rs 12.20, after the company reported turnaround results for second-quarter September 2006.

Decliners

Bajaj Auto led the decline, down 3.62% to Rs 2,794, after the company came out with results below expectations for second-quarter September 2006. Reliance Communication plunged 2.78% to Rs 367.50, Ranbaxy slipped 3.08% to Rs 411 and ITC declined 2.26% to Rs 190.10 also declined.

HDFC dropped 2% to Rs 1,451, despite reporting 23% growth in bottomline for second-quarter September 2006 to Rs 368.02 crore, compared to a net profit of Rs 298.98 crore in second-quarter September 2005. L&T lost 2.46% to Rs 1,271.10, even as the company reported 40.6% growth in net profit for second-quarter September 2006 to Rs 201.22 crore from Rs 143.05 crore in second-quarter September 2005.

Index heavy Reliance Industries declined 1.53% to Rs 1,189.50 ahead of its second-quarter results today. Analysts have forecast between 4.6% fall and a 16.8% rise in second-quarter net profit. After the close, Reliance reported third quarter profit of earnings of Rs 2,700 crore compared to 2,480 crore from a year ago. The higher profit was delivered by rising profit from plastics and chemical business. The fall in refining margin affected the net profit for the year. For the quarter the company earned 19.40 rupees compared to 17.80 per share. Refining margins for the quarter declined by more than 10% from $10.40 to $9.10 per barrel.

Other news

State-run domestic carrier Indian (formerly known as Indian Airlines) today received the first jet of a 43-plane order placed with Airbus Industries in Europe under a $2 billion deal signed in February. The airline with a fleet of 74 planes has 25 planes from Boeing and the rest from European Airbus.

The board of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group met on Wednesday to discuss a takeover bid from Tata Steel. Corsus is expected to recommend Tata Steel bid for 4.1 billion pounds. There were rumors that the bid may be revised in the coming days, before the board accepts the bid.