9:45AM U.S. markets opened higher on strong earnings from Citigroup and Wachovia.
U.S. market posted gains at opening, boosted by $25 billion buyout of student-loan firm Sallie Mae, as well as stronger-than-expected earnings from Citigroup, Wachovia, Eli Lilly and Mattel. Citigroup (C: chart) posted Q1 profit drop of 11%, due to a big charge related to its restructuring plan. However, excluding it, the profit exceeded estimates, thanks to an increase in revenue. The stock rose 3.2% helping the blue chips and other financial stocks. Dow components American Express Co. (AXP: chart) and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM: chart) rose 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Wachovia Corp. (WB: chart) gained 1.8% after the bank giant reported earnings rise of $1.20 a share, up from $1.09 a share a year ago.

Strong earnings results were also released by toy maker Mattel (MAT: chart), which said Q1 earnings dropped 60% to 3 cents a share from profit of 8 cents a year ago but beat analyst expectation of a 5-cent loss. Company''s shares gained 1.1%. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (LLY: chart) gained 1.4% after reporting a drop in Q1 profit amid acquisition-related charges and costs from a settlement of product-liability litigation. However, the company posted 4% sales increase. Among companies driven by analyst comments, Amgen (AMGN: chart) rose 1.6% after it was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

On the economic news front, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.7% in March, led by higher spending on clothing, gas and building materials. Retail sales were slightly stronger than the 0.6% expected by economists. According to another report, business-inventories for February gained 0.3%, in line with expectations. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 66.39, or 0.53%, to 12,678.52. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 10.27, or 0.71%, to 1,463.12, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.72, or 0.71%, to 2,509.66. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.74% from 4.77% late Friday.


9:30AM The FTSE 100 rallies Monday on strong financial and metal stocks.
The UK market was higher by mid-day on Monday. The benchmark index was 33.3 points higher at 6,495.9.

Advancers

Barclays rose 2.2% as the end of an exclusive 30-day negotiating period with Dutch bank ABN Amro drew nearer. The UK bank is facing competition from an RBS-led consortium, which is proposing a three-way break-up of the Dutch bank.

The news buoyed the rest of the financials sector, with Lloyds TSB up 1.5%, Bradford & Bingley 1.7% higher and Old Mutual up 2.1%.

Miners gained as metal prices rose, with Antofagasta, up 0.7% Rio Tinto, 1% higher, BHP Billiton, gaining 1.3% and Vedanta Resources, adding 1.4%, among the best performers.

Decliners

HSBC was downbeat on the retailer sector, downgrading Kingfisher and Next from overweight to neutral.Their shares fell 0.3% and 0.6% respectively. The bank also reduced its price target on HMV, pulling the music and book retailer 2.2% lower.

Support services firm Carter & Carter dipped 2.2%. The company lifted interim profits by 25% to 3.8 million pounds adding that it is confident of meeting its expectations for the remainder of the year. Revenue grew 64% to 62.2million pounds.

The worst performing stock was Fiberweb, which tumbled 14.2%, after it warned that current expectations of a significant increase in underlying operating profit and earnings before restructuring in American Industrial business in 2007 will not be attained.


9:15AM Asia rallies on Monday with Japan leading the regional advance.
Asian markets finished higher on Monday. The Nikkei 225 Average ended 1.5% higher, rising 264.35 points to 17628.30. Canon led gains among export-related stocks, up 2.6%. Toyota Motor added 1%, while Honda Motor gained 1.5%. Impact 21 jumped 18% after Polo Ralph Lauren announced Friday that it would launch a tender offer for the company, a sub-licensee of some of its Japanese clothing lines. In the energy sector, shares of Inpex Holdings, the largest explorer by production in Japan, rose 3%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closed 2.1% higher at 20,757.53. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, gained 1% after the company stated its first-quarter net profit more than doubled compared with a year earlier, as the price of petrochemical products hovered at a high level on strong domestic demand. Also among the leading gainers in Hong Kong was large-cap HSBC Holdings which rose 1.6%.

Chinese Shanghai Composite added 2.2% to finish at a record 3,596.44 after setting an all-time high of 3,597.22. Chinese regulators will allow companies to list in Hong Kong only if they seek to raise more than $1 billion or plan a simultaneous listing on the mainland. South Korean Kospi rose 0.7% to 1,532.04, after earlier hitting an all-time record of 1,533.09.


9:00AM Wall Street to open higher on strong earnings reports.
Wall Street pointed to higher opening, lifted by strong earnings and higher March retail sales. Citigroup (C: chart) posted Q1 profit drop of 11%, due to a big charge related to its restructuring plan. However, excluding that charge, the profit was higher than analysts expected, thanks to an increase in revenue. The banking giant said it earned $1.01 a share vs. $1.12 last year. Wachovia Corp. (WB: chart) also reported better-than-expected earnings results. The nation''s fourth-largest bank posted 33% profit rise in Q1.

In otherearnings highlights, Eli LIlly & Co. (LLY: chart) reported Q1 earnings drop of 47 cents a share, down from 77 cents a year ago due to charges related to the acquisition of Icos Corp. Excluding charges, the company earned 84 cents a share, exceeding estimates of 79 cents a share. Mattel (MAT: chart) said Q1 earnings were 3 cents a share, down from profit of 8 cents a year ago but above analyst expectation of a 5-cent loss.