4:00PM NY; 10:00PM Frankfurt; 2:30AM Mumbai – GLOBAL MARKET REVIEW
Blackstone acquires Equity Office Properties for $39 billion or $55.50 per share. The bidding contest with Vornado Realty Trust forced Blackstone to raise its bid by 8%. Weekly Petroleum report in the U.S. showed ample supply of gasoline.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.765% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.868%.

Gold gained $2.20 to close at $658.30 a troy ounce, silver advanced 10.5 cents to end at $13.665 a troy ounce and copper decreased $4.50 to close at $5313.50 per metric ton.

Oil gained 32 cents to close at $59.060 a barrel and heating oil advanced 1.94 cents to finish at 169.500 cents a gallon. Natural gas increased 1 cent to close at $7.644 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 1.710 cents to end at 157.700 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mostly higher, even as Japanese shares ended sharply lower on declines in semiconductor-related shares. The advancers were led by India with a gain of 1.14%, Singapore with an increase of 0.41% and Thailand with an advance of 0.25%. The decliners were Philippines with a loss of 1.21%, Japan with a decrease of 0.66% and Taiwan with a decline of 0.33%. Australia gained 0.38%.

European markets closed higher, boosted by strong earnings reports and buyback news from mining giant BHP Billiton. The advancers were led by Spain with an increase of 1.03%, Italy with a gain of 0.59% and Germany with an advance of 0.58%.

Latin America markets finished mixed. The only advancer was Mexico with a gain of 0.40%. The decliners were Brazil with a decrease of 1.64% and Argentina with a loss of 0.03%. Canada lost 0.38% due to energy sector due to weakness in energy stocks.

2:30PM NY, U.S. MARKET MOVERS
Brooks Automation swings to a profit on 76% rise in sales, while Intevac profit doubles.

Aspen Technology Inc. (AZPN: chart) Shares of Aspen Technology soared over 24% after company’s second-quarter revenue beat market expectations led by a 45% jump in license sales. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $96.4 million, up 26% from last year. Aspen said income from operations came in at $25.8 million in the quarter.

Brooks Automation (BRKS: chart) said that it swung to a profit in the first quarter, as income was boosted by a pair of acquisitions and brisk sales at company’s core hardware automation business. The company reported first-quarter profit of $22.1 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $11.7 million, or 18 cents per share. Excluding certain items, non-GAAP earnings in the most recent quarter were 35 cents per share. The revenue for the first quarter increased 76% to $191.4 million versus $108.5 million a year ago. Shares of the company rose 11.7%.

Consolidated Graphics Inc. (CGX: chart), printing facilities operator, said that its third-quarter net income increased to $16.4 million, or $1.17 per share, compared with $9.9 million, or 71 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Sales jumped to $269.6 million versus $226.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares climbed 11.5%.

Intevac (IVAC: chart) Shares of Intevac soared 24% after the maker of disk-drive manufacturing equipment posted fourth-quarter results that blew past estimates. The company said that its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $21.3 million, or 97 cents per share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $9.93 million, or 46 cents per share, helped by higher sales and a larger margin. Results included a $1.1 million reversal of tax costs.

Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLX: chart) The circuit board maker's fiscal first-quarter profit came in below Wall Street's expectation but analysts suggested the company's revenue had hit a low point. First-quarter earnings fell 79% to $3.65 million, or 14 cents per share, from $17.3 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier, hurt by price reductions and reduced sales. Sales fell 11% to $123.9 million from $139.7 million from the year-ago period. Shares were up 17.2%.

USANA Health Sciences Inc. (USNA: chart), maker of nutrition and personal care products, said that its fourth-quarter net profit increased to $11.1 million, or 61 cents per share, compared with $10.5 million, or 54 cents per share, last year. Revenue climbed 16.5% to $99.8 million versus $85.6 million in the same period a year ago. Shares soared 9.9%.

Genomic Health Inc. (GHDX: chart), biotechnology company, posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $9 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $8.22 million, or 34 cents per share, last year. Revenue increased to $8.62 million against $1.93 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Shares fell 7.1%.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (TRMP: chart) shares fell after casino operator, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $9.7 million, or 31 cents per share, narrower than a year-ago loss of $22.1 million, or 73 cents per share. On a continuing operations basis, the Atlantic City, N.J., casino operator lost $10.3 million, or 33 cents per share, in the latest quarter. Net revenue climbed to $244.2 million versus $234.7 million a year earlier.

1:00PM European markets closed higher, boosted by BHP Billiton and Infineon.
European stocks closed in the green territory on Wednesday, boosted by strong earnings reports and buyback news from mining giant BHP Billiton. Gains posted by Infineon Technologies and continued deal speculation in the utility sector also generated upbeat sentiment. BHP Billiton was a notable advancer, rising 5.5% in London after it reported 41% profit growth and announced a surprise $10 billion share buyback. In the tech sector, shares in Infineon Technologies rose more than 10% after the German chipmaker said it received a contract to supply chips for Nokia. Among utility stocks, E.On shares rose 1% after the board of Endesa approved E.On's offer of 38.75 euros a share. The gains in Germany spread through the European utility sector, with Spanish utilities Union Fenosa rising 4% and Iberdrola gaining 2.7% in Madrid amid continued deal talk. In earnings-inspired gains, shares in French advertising group Publicis climbed 5% amid 4.8% revenue growth. British Airways was in focus, rising 4.7% after Merrill Lynch upgraded the airline to buy from neutral. The DAX 30 gained 0.6% at 6,915.56, the French CAC-40 rose 0.5% to 5,703.00 and the the U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.4% at 6,369.50.

Crude oil prices hovered round $59 a barrel after weekly petroleum report. Light, sweet crude March delivery rose 7 cents to $58.95 a barrel. Heating oil added to $1.6960 a gallon, while gasoline rose to $1.5739. London Brent was unchanged at $58.42. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3009, up from $1.2978. The dollar bought 120.72 yen, up from 120.08. The British pound was quoted at $1.9689, down from $1.9704. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $654.90 per troy ounce, up from $652.03. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $653.70 per ounce, up from $649.60. Silver closed at $13.72, up from $13.57.


11:30AM The Dow Jones Industrial average topped 12,700.
U.S. stock averages traded higher, boosted by retreating oil prices and solid gains in the tech sector. The Dow topped 12,700 for the first time, reflecting a robust sales forecast from Cisco Systems Inc. and a stronger-than-expected productivity growth. The blue-chip average was lifted by gains for Caterpillar (CAT: chart), up 1.6%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: chart), up 1.1%, and Intel (INTC: chart), also up 1.1%. However, losses posted by Pfizer (PFE: chart) and Alcoa (AA: chart) helped to limit the upside for the blue-chip average.

The tech sector was led higher by Cisco Systems (CSCO: chart) which rose 4% amid better-than-expected results and lifted revenue and profit guidance. Further support was provided by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN: chart), rising 1% after it announced it is partnering with TiVo Inc. (TIVO: chart) to offer movies and TV shows. Following the news, shares in TiVo gained 5%. At the same time, Texas Instruments (TXN: chart) was down 1.4%, after Infineon Technologies (IFX: chart) said it received a contract to supply chips for Nokia Corp. phones. Infineon climbed 11%. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 21.07, or 0.17 percent, to 12,687.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.68, or 0.25%, at 1,451.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.25, or 0.82%, to 2,491.74. Bonds rose following the economic data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.76% from 4.77% late Tuesday.