4:30PM NY; 10:30PM Frankfurt; 2:00AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS

U.S. market averages closed slightly lower ahead of Fed meeting tomorrow. Traders are looking for Fed to leave the rates unchanged. European markets closed lower awaiting the Fed news tomorrow. Adidas earnings fell 11%, Swiss Re net gained 54% and Deutsche Bank profit rose 30%. Banco Itau in Brazil reported a profit rise gain of 30% and Real reached six-year high. IBM pitched for $1.5 billion outsourcing deal from Indian cell phone operator Reliance Communications.


Yield on 10-year U.S. bond closed at 4.634% and the 30-year U.S. bond closed at 4.804%.

Gold lost $3.000 to close at $687.400 a troy ounce, silver decreased 4 cents to end at $13.600 a troy ounce and copper gained $137.000 to close at $8370.000 per metric ton.

Oil gained 79 cents to close at $62.260 a barrel and heating oil advanced 2.720 cents to finish at 182.990 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 14.2 cents to close at $7.637 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 1.490 cents to end at 220.450 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed lower with Japan edging down slightly, while China finished higher on gains in retailers and property developers. The decliners were led by Singapore with a decrease of 1.10%, Hong Kong with a loss of 0.91% and India with a decline of 0.82%. The advancers were China with an increase of 3.86% and Philippines with a gain of 0.12%. Australia lost 0.45%.

European markets finished lower ahead of rate decisions. The decliners were led by Norway with a decline of 2.33%, Germany with a decrease of 1.11% and U.K. with a loss of 0.81%. There were no advancers.

Latin America markets finished lower by falling overseas exchanges. The decliners were led by Mexico with a decrease of 0.93% and Argentina with a loss of 0.17%. The only advancer was Brazil with an advance of 0.03%. Canada gained 0.26%.

2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc. (ACMR: chart) shares soared 11.7% after the craft store operator reported a higher first-quarter profit on improvements in both sales and margins, against Wall Street''s expectation for a loss. Net income more than doubled to $572,000, or 3 cents per share, from $250,000, or a penny per share, in the prior-year period. Sales increased 2% to $135.4 million compared with $132.9 million a year ago.

AQuantive Inc. (AQNT: chart), online advertising company, first quarter profit climbed 87%, on big sales boosts in its digital marketing service and digital performance media divisions. For the quarter net income rose to $14.2 million, or 16 cents per share, from $7.6 million, or 10 cents per share in the prior year quarter. Revenue rose 55% to $142.6 million, versus $92.2 million in the first quarter of 2006. Shares jumped 11.9%.

Florida East Coast Industries (FLA: chart) said it would be acquired by fund manager Fortress Investment Group LLC ((FIG.N)) in deal valued at $3.5 billion. Shares climbed 13.3%.

Sonus Networks Inc. (SONS: chart), which makes Internet telephony equipment and software, said first-quarter sales rose 18% fueled by growth of the Internet protocol-services market. First-quarter sales rose to $71 million from $60 million a year ago. Shares climbed 6%.

Warnaco Group Inc. (WRNC: chart) said that its first-quarter earnings more than doubled on sales growth in the apparel maker''s sportswear group, which benefited from the acquisition of Calvin Klein''s international business. First-quarter net income jumped to $38 million, or 82 cents per share, from $13.9 million, or 30 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue increased 21% to $547.2 million from $453.2 million in the prior year. Shares jumped 16.4%.

Cutera (CUTR: chart), maker of laser skin treatment systems used by dermatologists and plastic surgeons, said that first-quarter earnings grew 59%. Net income increased to $1.8 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to $1.1 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period. First-quarter revenue grew 12%, to $23.3 million from $20.8 million a year ago. Shares fell 21.3%.

DJO Inc. (DJO: chart), medical device maker, said that its first-quarter net earnings declined $4 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with $5.98 million, or 26 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, earnings came in at 23 cents per share versus 28 cents per share last year. Revenue climbed to $114.9 million against $82.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 18.1%.

MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR: chart) first-quarter profit plunged 35% from the year ago period, as expenses swelled and license revenue declined. Net income for the quarter was $9.8 million, or 75 cents per share, down from $15 million, or $1.05 per share, for the first quarter 2006. Revenue for the period was $72.4 million, up 4% from $69.5 million in the year ago period. Shares fell 12.6%.

W&T Offshore (WTI: chart), oil and gas explorer, first-quarter profit fell 77%, hurt by weaker product prices and higher lease operating costs. Quarterly earnings dropped to $13 million, or 17 cents per share, from $55.8 million, or 85 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Revenue rose to $246.5 million versus $156.9 million a year ago, compared with analysts'' expectations of $247.3 million. Shares plunged 10.8%.

1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks lost ground ahead of rate decisions.
European stock markets lost ground on Tuesday, dragged down by cyclical stocks ahead of central bank decisions around the globe. Losses on Wall Street after several winning sessions and before Fed Reserve’s meeting also contributed to the negative sentiment. Among the leading decliners, truck maker Volvo lost 6.4%, while easyJet dropped 7.1% after reporting that load factor fell to 83.1% in April from 86.4%. Dutch telecom KPN fell 3.3% after its Q1 net income dropped 18%.