1:00PM NY European markets closed modestly higher.
European stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday, helped by strength among travel and technology stocks which offset some weakness from oil and gas firms, including BP and British Gas. A decline in the shares of DaimlerChrysler also limited the upward movement. The automaker declined 1.5% after the company''s chief executive, Dieter Zetsche confirmed that there are talks with unidentified buyers for Chrysler. On the side of the gainers, German chipmaker SAP rose 1.5%, while airline British Airways added 0.4% after posting a 3.3% rise in passenger traffic for March. Other airlines also finished higher benefiting from lower oil prices, with shares in Deutsche Lufthansa up 3.6% and Air France-KLM, up 1.3%. The French CAC-40 added 0.5% at 5,739.01, the German DAX Xetra 30 index gained 0.4% at 7,073.91 and the U.K. FTSE 100 finished virtually flat at 6,364.70.


11:30AM U.S. markets traded in a volatile fashion.
U.S. stocks traded in a volatile fashion, reflecting weaker-than-expected reports on the service-sector, employment, and on factory orders. The ISM reported that the nation''s service economy expanded at a slower pace in March, with index coming in at 52.4, down from 54.3 in February. Also, factory orders rose by a disappointing 1% in February, below expectations of an increase of 1.9%. Among companies releasing quarterly results, Monsanto (MON: chart) rose 4.3% on higher Q2 profit. Circuit City (CC: chart) fell 1.8% on Q4 net loss. Best Buy (BBY: chart) slid 1.7% after the retailer said it expects margin pressures. The Dow Jones Industrial average was strongly supported by 3% gain for Microsoft (MSFT: chart). Walt Disney (DIS: chart) was the biggest drag among blue chips, falling 1%.

In corporate news, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY: chart) added 1% and ImClone Systems (IMCL: chart) rose 2.8% after they said a 400-patient first-line Phase III study of Erbitux plus platinum-based chemotherapy met the primary endpoint of increasing overall survival in patients with recurrent and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Among companies driven by analyst comments, Deutsche Bank upgraded telecommunications company Global Crossing (GLBC: chart) to buy from hold, sending its stock up 4%. In late morning trading Wednesday, the Dow rose 13.98, or 0.11%, to 12,524.98. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 0.12, or 0.01%, to 1,437.65, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.60, or 0.11%, to 2,452.93. Bonds rose sharply as investors looked past mixed economic data for the security of Treasuries. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.64% from 4.67% late Tuesday.

Factory orders jumped 1%.
The Department of Commerce released its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of February on Wednesday, showing that orders increased by less than economists had been expecting. The report showed that orders for manufactured goods rose 1.0 percent in February following a revised 5.7 percent decrease in January. Economists had been expecting orders to increase by about 1.9 percent compared to the 5.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month. The smaller than expected increase in orders was partly due to a downward revision to the pace of growth in new orders for durable goods, which was revised down to 1.7 percent from the previously reported 2.5 percent growth. The Commerce Department also said that shipments of manufactured goods fell 0.5 percent in February following a 1.7 percent decrease in January. At the same time, the report showed a slight increase in inventories of manufactured goods. Subsequently, the inventories-to-shipments ratio edged up to 1.25 in February from 1.24 in January.

Crude oil inventories rose, gasoline stockpiles declined.
Government data released Wednesday showed that crude oil inventories rose in the most recent week, resuming their advance after a mild decline in the previous period. Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles fell again. The Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories rose 4.3 million barrels in the week ended March 30. Specifically, the measure rose to 332.7 million barrels from the previous week''s level of 328.4 million barrels. This resumed gains after a decline of 900,000 barrels in the previous week. Oil inventories for the week were 2.8% below last year''s level. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories showed a week-over-week slide of 5 million barrels. This extended a recent streak of declines, including a drop of 300,000 barrels in the previous week. The level of gasoline inventories was 2.6% below last year. Distillate fuel oil had an inventory decline during the week ended March 30 as well. Stockpiles of these products, which include heating oil, were unchanged for the week. This followed a recent streak of declines, with a draw down of 700,000 barrels taking place in the previous week.

Service sector growth slowed down in March.
Wednesday morning, the Institute for Supply Management released its report on activity in the service sector in the month of March. The report showed that the pace of growth in the sector unexpectedly slowed compared to the previous month. The ISM said that its index of activity in the sector fell to 52.4 in March from an unrevised 54.3 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 54.7. The unexpected slowdown was partly due to slower new orders growth, with the new orders index falling to 53.8 in March from 54.8 in February. The report also showed a slowdown in employment growth, as the employment index fell to 50.8 from 52.2. At the same time, the report showed a significant acceleration in the pace of price growth, as the prices index surged up to 63.3 in March from 53.8 in the previous month.


9:45AM U.S. stocks opened little changed.
U.S. stocks opened little changed Wednesday, reflecting mixed reports from electronics retailers and a disappointing estimate on U.S. employment. Stocks received help from news of easing global political tensions, with Iran promising to release 15 detained sailors and marines. In corporate news, Best Buy (BBY: chart) rose 1% after reporting 19% rise in Q4 profit to $1.55 a share, compared with $1.29 a year ago. The earnings increased due to higher sales of flat-panel television sets, video-gaming hardware and notebook computers. Rival Circuit City Stores (CC: chart) posted an unexpected loss because of lower sales. The stock lost 0.3%. Panera Bread (PNRA: chart) dropped 4% after it said Q1 revenue rose 24% to $240 million. Panera said it expects Q1 profit to be at or slightly below the previous target of 47 cents to 50 cents a share. Panera estimates that its comparable bakery-cafe sales in the first quarter were lower than expected by about 1% due to extreme weather experienced in its core markets.

Further on the earnings news front, Greenbrier Companies Inc. (GBX: chart) slipped 14% after reporting Q2 drop of 38 cents a share, compared to a gain of 54 cents a share in the year-ago period, missing estimates. Automakers were also in focus as DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX: chart) Chairman Zetsche said the automaker is in talks with potential buyers for its Chrysler unit. In merger-and-acquisition speculation, Goldman Sachs Group (GS: chart) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM: chart) have been hired by private equity firm Apollo Management LP about a possible public offering. In the first hour of trading, the Dow rose 1.38, or 0.01%, to 12,511.68. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 0.39, or 0.03% to 1,437.38, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.14, or 0.13%, to 2,453.47. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.65% from 4.67% late Tuesday.


9:00AM Asian markets advanced on Wednesday with Australia at record.
Asian markets ended higher on Wednesday. Sydney S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to a record close of 6,092.9. Coles Group jumped 4.7% after Wesfarmers set a takeover offer of 16.47 Australian dollars or $13.39 a share for the second-largest retailer in the country. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Wednesday held short-term interest rates steady at 6.5%, stunning expectations for a quarter-point increase.

Japanese Nikkei 225 average ended 1.7% higher to 17,544.09. Toyota Motor again posted strong sales in the U.S., rose 1.6%, while Honda Motor added 2.4%. Digital-camera and office-equipment maker Canon added 2.7%.

Other indexes around the region also advanced. Chinese Shanghai Composite Index set an intraday all-time high in the morning session, before retreating slightly in the afternoon session. The benchmark closed almost flat at 3,291.54. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index finished 1% higher at 20,209.71. South Korean Kospiadded 1.4% to 1,483.41 and Singapore Straits Times Index ended up 1.4% 3,332.92, Taiwan Weighted Price Index gained 0.9% to 8,004.61.

The energy sector ended lower after crude-oil prices slipped 2% in U.S. trading. Japanese oil explorer, Inpex Holdings, shed 3%. PetroChina, largest-listed oil company in China by production, fell 0.7%. Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton gained 1.8% after copper futures advanced more than 4% Tuesday to close at their highest level in five months.


8:15AM Daimler Chrysler confirmed talks to sell its Chrysler unit.
DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX: chart) confirmed on Wednesday that it is in talks to sell its Chrysler unit or only a part of it. Chairman Dieter Zetsche announced on Feb. 14 that due to continued losses and severe competition in the United States, the German-American automaker was considering all options for its Chrysler unit. He also said that a recovery plan including 13,000 job cuts in the U.S. and Canada was moving forward.

Zetsche said the automaker is in talks with unidentified buyers about a possible sale. However, according to reports, Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. (MGA: chart) submitted a bid to buy the business for as much as $4.7 billion. In addition, Cerberus Capital Management LLC and a consortium of investors led by Blackstone Group each have reviewed Chrysler''s finances and are expected to make bids.

Zetsche also said that between now and 2009, Chrysler will release on the market 20 all-new vehicles and 13 renewed models. At Mercedes, the company will able to achieve at least a 7% return on sales for 2007 on the third year of its restructuring program. He said the company will give estimates on DaimlerChrysler''s 2007 performance in May, along with Q1 results.