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) 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) and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) rose 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Wachovia Corp. (WB) 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), 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) 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) rose 1.6% after it was upgraded to overweight from equal weight atMorgan 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) 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) 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) 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) 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.