4:00PM Dow and Nasdaq drop in afternoon trading.

-Yield on 10 -year closed at 5.002% and 30-year closed at 5.079%.
-Crude oil closed at $74.35.
-Gold closed down at $634.20.

-Asian Markets closed higher led by Philippines to close ahead at 2.63%. Japan traded higher at 0.74%. Taiwan was down 0.39%.

-European Markets mostly closed lower led by 0.78% decline in the U.K. and 0.58% loss in Spain. S. Africa, the only market to gain, was up 0.74%.

-At close Latin American Markets were mixed, with 0.51% gain in Argentina and 0.71% loss in Mexico.

12:30PM European markets closed lower.
European markets closed lower, pulling back from last-week highs, despite well-received earnings reports from major companies. Weakness on Wall Street also contributed to the negative sentiment. Among decliners, Dutch banking group ABN Amro Holdings dropped 2.3% after it said Q2 provisions for bad loans jumped to 430 million euros. Advancers included media and publishing group Pearson which rose 1% on 57% operating profit growth for the first half. Dutch delivery-services group TNT jumped 3.5% after it raised its margin forecast for 2006. ASM International climbed 6.5% Q2 net profit and sales increase. The German DAX 30 fell 0.4%, the French CAC 40 lost 00.4%, while London FTSE 100 dropped 0.8%.

Oil prices advanced on concerns about Mideast supply disruptions. Light crude September delivery rose 51 cents to $73.75 a barrel. London Brent gained 66 cents to $74.05. The dollar further declined versus major currencies. The euro traded at $1.2755, up from $1.2753. The dollar bought 114.35 yen, down from 114.70. The British pound stood at $1.8662, up from $1.8634. European gold prices declined. In London the precious metal traded at $632.58, down from $636.05 per ounce. In Zurich gold traded at $631.78, down from $635.35. Silver closed at $11.27, down from $11.32.


11:30AM The Nasdaq gained on strong disk drive sector.
Stocks traded mixed to lower late Monday morning as investors locked in recent gains. The major averages subsequently moved well off their worst levels of the day. Blue chips dropped due to the conflict in the Middle East and disappointing profit reports. Boeing (BA) shares dropped 1.1% on the Nymex, while GE (GE) shares fell 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from strength in the disk drive sector, contributed by news that M-Systems agreed to be acquired by SanDisk (SNDK) for $1.35 billion in stock. A brokerage upgrade of Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL), which rose 4%, also boosted the Nasdaq. The brokerage also upgraded National Semiconductor Corp. (NSM) to ‘outperform’ from ‘market perform,’ sending the stock up 1.3%.

The increase by the price of oil generated selling pressure among oil-sensitive airline stocks. Some biotechnology and housing stocks also moved sharply lower. However, the energy sector helped to limit the downside for the major averages. The health insurance sector also moved to the upside on bargain hunting. The stock of M-Systems surged 13.2%. Among other stocks, shares of copper miner Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD) jumped 6.3% after Canada''s Teck Cominco Ltd. sweetened its offer for base metals producer Inco Ltd. In late morning, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.41, or 0.16%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index lost 1.14, or 0.09%, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.78, or 0.09%. Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury steady at 4.99% from late Friday.


10:30AM The Indian Sensex ends with a moderate gains on selling pressure.
The Sensex in India finished with a gain of 63.65 points, or 0.60%, to 10,743.88. The market-breadth on BSE was positive led by broad rally from large to small caps and mid-caps. In the session 1,490 shares advanced, 945 declined and 64 stocks were unchanged. The daily turnover on Mumbai Stock Exchange was at $503 million or Rs 2,264 crore.

The top gainers BHEL advanced 3.83% to Rs 2,043.00. The company posted 85% surge in net profit to Rs 236.7 crore for Q1 June 2006 compared to Rs 127.9 crore a year ago. Largest auto maker, Maruti gained 2.55% to Rs 788.00 on decline in global crude oil price. Software exporters were on the gainers list. Satyam advanced 2.07% at Rs 752.50, Wipro gained 1.80% to Rs 491.00 and Infosys Technologies was up 1.35% to Rs 1,651.

ICICI Bank advanced 1.35% to Rs 550. The stock recovered from an early low of Rs 544.90 on bottom fishing. Reliance Industries slid marginally to Rs 979.50 on 1.3 million shares. It traded in a range of Rs 997.50 and Rs 977.15.

On the list of leading decliners, Hindustan Lever, lost 4.89% to Rs 230.40, despite reporting 35% growth in Q2 June 2006 net profit to Rs 381 crore compared to Rs 282 crore a year ago. Grasim shed 2.01% to Rs 2,075, in spite of reporting 24% growth in Q1 June 2006 net profit to Rs 311.90 crore, surpassing market expectations. ACC dipped 1.37% to Rs 837, Hindalco shed 1.11% at Rs 160.65 and ONGC sank 0.94% to Rs 1,170.


9:45AM Stocks opened in the negative.
Stocks opened lower Monday, reflecting investor cautiousness due to the intensifying violent Mideast conflict, higher oil prices and several disappointing earnings reports. Tyson Foods and Valero LP released disappointing earnings forecasts adding to the market''s concerns. Traders were inclined to take profits after the last-week rally and wait for Labor Department’s job creation report on Friday.

Tyson (TSN), the world''s largest meat processor, reported Q3 profit loss of 15 cents per share, compared with a profit of 36 cents per share last year due to 5% revenue decline and legal charges. Tyson also lowered its future profit forecasts, and dropped 8.4%. Valero (VLI) fell $1.16 to $50.78 after the energy company reported profits below analysts'' estimates despite a more than fourfold increase in revenues, as well as disappointing guidance for the second half of the year. Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) added 40 cents to $44.86 after the retailer reported July same-store sales, increased 2.4%.

The airline sector turned in one of the market''s worst performances, partly due to an increase by the price of oil. AMR (AMR) and Continental (CAL) posted significant losses. Meanwhile, bargain hunting contributed to some strength in the health insurance sector, with Humana (HUM) up 4.9%, helping to lead the health insurance sector higher after reporting better-than-expected Q2 earnings. Some disk drive stocks also advanced, with shares of M-Systems (FLSH) up 13.2% after the company agreed to be acquired by SanDisk (SNDK) for $1.35 billion in stock. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 35.54, or 0.32%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index lost 3.01, or 0.24%, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 9.95, or 0.48%. Bonds edged lower after Friday''s rally, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 5% from 4.99% late Friday.