1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed in the negative on weak mining and automotive stocks.
European stock markets closed in the negative on Wednesday, dragged down by weaker mining and automotive stocks which offset gains from chip-equipment maker ASML and Swiss drug maker Roche. Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto declined 2.6% and 1%, respectively as copper prices pulled back and the dollar weakened. The record-low dollar also hurt exporter-related stocks. Accordingly, shares of BMW slipped 1.3%, while Porsche also lost ground. Among other losers, shares of rate-sensitive property companies Hammerson dropped 2.5% while British Land lost more than 4%. On the side of the gainers, shares of ASML Holding rose 5.49% after the producer of equipment used to manufacture microchips said Q1 net profit nearly doubled to 153 million euros.
Meanwhile, shares of Swiss drug giant Roche Holdings moved up 2%. The German DAX 30 declined 0.90% to close at 7,282.34, the French CAC-40 lost 0.38% at 5,835.95 and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 slipped 0.74% at 6,449.40.


11:30AM U.S. market averages turned mixed on earnings reports.
U.S. market averages turned mixed in late morning trading, reflecting upbeat earnings at JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. and concerns about the technology sector, raised by lower-than-expected earnings at Yahoo and a downgrade of IBM. J.P.Morgan (JPM: chart) and Intel (UNTC: chart) led the Dow higher, posting an advance of 4.1% and 1.7%, respectively. Notable weakness was visible among disk drive stocks, with Seagate Technology (STX: chart) helping to lead the sector down, posting a decline of 7% on weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. IBM (IBM: chart) was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was weighed down by a 12% drop in the shares of Yahoo (YHOO: chart).

Strength in the semiconductor sector helped limit losses. Shares of Linear Technology (LLTC: chart) climbed 12% after the chip maker reported Q3 earnings in line with analyst estimates and revealed a $3 billion accelerated stock repurchase plan. Some transportation stocks also posted strong gains, with shares of CSX (CSX: chart) up 4.1% even though the railroad operator reported Q1 earnings drop that came in below analyst estimates. Oil service stocks showed weakness following several downgrades by Citigroup (C: chart), while airline stocks moved higher, helped by AMR (AMR: chart), which rose 2.6% after posting quarterly profit versus a loss a year ago. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 20.23, or 0.16%, at 12,793.27, points away from its trading high of 12,795.93 set Feb. 20. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.43, or 0.10%, at 1,472.91, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 3.99, or 0.16%, to 2,512.96. Bonds rose for the third straight session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.66% from 4.69% late Tuesday.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened lower on disappointing tech earnings.
U.S. stocks declined at opening Wednesday amid a batch of mixed earnings reports that led to some profit-taking. A sharp decline in the dollar, hitting a 26-year low vs. the British pound and nearing an all-time low vs. the euro, also contributed to the negative mood. Weakness in the tech sector weighed after disappointing earnings results sent Yahoo (YHOO: chart) down 12% and a broker downgrade pushed IBM (IBM: chart) lower by 2%.

Financial stocks were helped by J.P. Morgan (JPM: chart), which like a number of other blue-chip stocks which have released Q1 earnings so far, topped estimates. The company''s shares rose 4% after it said Q1 net income rose more than 50% to $1.34 a share, from 86 cents a year ago, well above estimates of $1.02 a share. The company also increased its dividend by 12% and launched a $10 billion stock repurchase program. Intel (INTC: chart)also helped support the Dow, rising 0.5% after the chip maker''s earnings topped expectations. Caterpillar (CAT: chart) also supported the blue-chip average, moving up 1.5% after Wachovia upgraded the company, predicting that its earnings will accelerate in 2008.

Further on the earnings news front, United Technologies (UTX: chart) was among the very few gainers, moving 0.7% higher on stronger-than-expected profit. Shares of Motorola (MOT: chart) rose 2.1% after the company said that revenue and earnings excluding special items beat expectations. Outside the sector, Abbott Laboratories (ABT: chart) dropped 2.2% after the company reported Q1 earnings drop of 19% to 45 cents a share from 56 cents a year earlier, exceeding expectations. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.61, or 0.12%, to 12,757.43. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 2.64, or 0.18%, at 1,468.84, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 8.45, or 0.34%, to 2,508.50.


9:30AM The UK benchmark index declines Wednesday on interest rate fears.
The UK market was lower on Wednesday. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 was down 30 points to 6,471.1.

Advancers

Barclays traded higher, rising 0.8%, as ABN Amro announced it would meet with rival suitors Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander and Fortis to hear their proposal for a break-up bid.

Among the mid-caps, EMI Group advanced 6% as the world third largest record company stated it had suspended its dividend payments and was mulling a securitisation of its publishing assets. EMI has warned on profits twice this year.

Another mid-cap, WS Atkins, advanced 7.8% after the engineering consultancy announced that profit for the year to March would be significantly ahead of expectations. DS Smith also advanced 7.1% after an upbeat trading statement from the packaging group.

Decliners

Real estate stocks led the decliners, with Hammerson down 2.3% and Land Securities Group off 1.9%.

Ex-dividend stocks were also lower. British Land fell 2.2%, BAE Systems dropped 2.1%, Legal & General lost 2% and Slough Estates was off 2.1%.


9:15AM Asian markets finished mixed Wednesday with Japan higher, HK lower.
Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday. The 225-issue Nikkei Average ended up 0.8% to 17,667.33. Canon was 0.8% higher in Tokyo, while Toyota Motor added 1.1%. Medical-imaging equipment maker Fujifilm Holdings advanced 1.4% after reports that the company will report an 80% increase in group operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2008.

Australian S&P ASX/200 gained 0.8% to end at 6,236.90. BHP Billiton added 1.3% and Rio Tinto was up 1.4% after copper prices reached their highest-ever level in New York trading on concerns over a potential supply disruption related to a labor dispute at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Grasberg mine in Indonesia.