1:00PM European markets closed little changed.
European stock markets closed little changed Friday, reflecting continuous weakness among pharmaceutical stocks, sparked by the fact that the Democrats took over the U.S. Congress. Gains in chemical firms such as Rhodia and commodity-related shares helped limit the downside move. London FTSE 100 dropped 0.37%, dragged by GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, down 1.8% each. Peers Novartis and Roche also suffered weakness. The French CAC 40 ended flat at 5,447.50 as investors digested data showing unexpectedly flat quarter-on-quarter GDP growth. Of the companies in focus, chemicals group Rhodia rose 2.7% as it swung to a net profit, while luxury-goods retailer Hermes dropped 4.7% after recent gains. Shares of Euronext jumped 6.5% boosted by the shares of its agreed merger partner, the NYSE Group. The German DAX 30 ended flat at 6,357.77, reflecting gains by chemicals company BASF and losses for Deutsche Telekom which fell 2.5% on downgrade by UBS.


Crude oil retreated as investors turned to profit taking and the IEA cut its 2006 global oil outlook. Crude oil December contract fell $1.06 to $60.10 a barrel. Heating oil slipped 3 cents to $1.7161 a gallon, while gasoline lost 3 cents to $1.5695. Natural gas futures slipped 22 cents to $7.735 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar dropped against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2858, up from $1.2824. The dollar bought 117.43 yen, down from 117.97. The British pound stood at $1.9133, up from $1.9055. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $628.20 per troy ounce, up from $625.10. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $628.35 per ounce, up from $624.33. Silver closed at $12.77, up from $12.75.


11:30AM Stocks turned mixed. Disney weighed on the Dow.
Stock markets turned mixed in quiet trading Friday as AIG''s quarterly results and a multibillion-dollar contract for Bioeing offset losses for Walt Disney''s shares. A pullback by oil prices also offered some support for stocks. Crude-oil futures fell Friday morning after the IEA cut its 2006 global oil-demand growth forecast on lower Q3 demand from China and some industrialized nations.

Walt Disney (DIS: chart) dropped 3% to stand out as the most notable decliner on the Dow. The media giant said its Q4 net income more than doubled, boosted by strong sales and growth in its amusement parks and media networks. Although the results came in above estimates, analysts said that some investors expected even better results after brokerages at the last minute unofficially raised their earnings estimates. In addition, the company said it plans to increase capital spending in 2007. Again in the Dow, Boeing (BA: chart) rose 1.6% after the Air Force placed an order with the aerospace manufacturer to provide U.S. military helicopters for up to $10 billion. Further support was provided by American International Group Inc. (AIG: chart) which rose 2.3% after theinsurer reported surging Q3 net income.

By sector, airlines, brokers, and computer software stocks were among the gainers. Strength also emerged in the tobacco sector, led by Alliance One (AOI: chart). The tobacco company climbed 7.6% after reporting Q2 profit versus a year-ago loss. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance. Energy and resource stocks traded mostly down, while utilities and financials generally moved higher. Gold stocks fell along with the precious metals. Additionally, bargain hunting contributed to some weakness among health insurance stocks. In deal news, drug developer Tanox (TNOX: chart) jumped 44% after it agreed to be acquired by pharmaceutical company Genentech Inc. for $919 million.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.72, or 0.11%, to 12,090.58. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 1.09, or 0.08%, at 1,377.24, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 2.40, or 0.10%, at 2,378.41. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.59% from 4.63% late Thursday.


10:30AM The Sensex gained 145 points supported by Reliance, banks.
The Sensex on BSE finished 145.42 points, or 1.11%, higher to end at 13,295.36. The market-breadth remained strong. As 1,274 shares advanced on BSE, 1,255 declined and 88 stocks were unchanged.. From the Sensex stocks, 23 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,541 crore, higher than Rs 4,263 crore on Thursday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,232.44 crore, higher than Rs 7,837.47 crore on Thursday.

Economic news

Industrial production in India grew 11.4% in September from a year earlier on strong manufacturing and electricity output, government data showed on Friday. Output had risen at 9.9% in August. Manufacturing production advanced 12% in September from a year earlier, compared with 11.1% in August.

Annual wholesale price index of slipped to 5.09% (as on October 28) from the previous week 5.41% due to a fall in the prices of manufactured products.

Most-active stocks

Reliance Industries was the most-active stock on BSE with a total turnover of Rs 338.09 crore. Indiabulls Financial Services followed.

Advancers

Index heavy Reliance Industries jumped 2.13%, to Rs 1,288.25, on a volume of 26.62 lakh shares. Reliance Industries announced on Thursday, its board had approved raising up to $2 billion through loans and bond issues, or a combination of fund-raising instruments.

Banking stocks surged on renewed buying. Private sector ICICI Bank led the advancers, up 4.35% to Rs 834, after its ADR gained more than 3% on the NYSE on Thursday. It had hit an all-time high of Rs 838, while its low was Rs 795. Centurion Bank of Punjab surged 7.33% to Rs 28.55, HDFC Bank gained 2.54% to Rs 1,043, SBI edged up 0.24% to Rs 1,133.20, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.68% to Rs 361.15, Union Bank of India notched up1.63% to Rs 130.65 and Union Bank of India advanced 1.59% to Rs 130.60.

Software large-cap Infosys gained 0.51%, to Rs 2,148.90. The stock advanced for the fourth consecutive day today, after shareholders on Tuesday approved a sponsored ADR issue. Aluminium maker Hindalco Industries gained 0.25% at Rs 183.20, and its state-run counterpart Nalco was 0.62% higher, to Rs 200 after three-month aluminium futures rose 4%. Hindustan Zinc advanced 1.21% to Rs 964.45, as three-month zinc futures hit a record high of $ 4,545 a tonne on the LME, on Thursday.

Decliners