1:00PM European markets closed mixed after touching multi-year highs.
European stocks hit multi-year highs on Tuesday, boosted by solid gains in the health-care sector. Fresenius Medical Care climbed 3.9% in Frankfurt as investors mulled the revenue implications of potential changes to dialysis treatment payments in the U.S. Property stocks also contributed to the upside move, with shares in France''s Unibail up 2.6%, Italy''s Beni Stabili up 1.8% and Liberty International higher by 1.2.%. Among other advancing stocks, insurance group Aviva''s shares rose 1.8% after the company said its 2006 total sales rose 22% The U.K.''s FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 % at 6,346.30, after touching a new six-year high earlier in the day, lifted by gains for supermarkets Tesco and William Morrison. Lloyds TSB also helped, rising 1.4% after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock. U.K. oil giant BP limited the upward move with a drop of 1.2% on earnings news. The Dutch AEX index touched its highest level in just under five-years at 509.35. It closed up 0.2% at 507.40. The German DAX Xetra 30 closed flat at 6,875.70. The French CAC-40 index slipped 0.1% at 5676.78, reversing from a 51/2-year high.

Crude oil prices traded above $59 a barrel on expectations of increased fuel demand, due to colder winter weather. Light, sweet crude March delivery rose 46 cents to $59.20 a barrel. Heating oil added 2 cents to $1.7001 a gallon, while gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.5774. Natural gas fell 8 cents to $7.55 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 75 cents to $58.85. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.2946, up from $1.2931. The dollar bought 120.36 yen, up from 120.33. The British pound was quoted at $1.9678, up from $1.9602. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $652.03 per troy ounce, up from $648.55. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $649.60 per ounce, up from $648.55. Silver closed at $13.57, up from $13.48.


11:30AM Market averages turned lower, led by tech stocks.
U.S. stocks turned to the downside, reflecting rallying oil prices and weakness in the tech sector ahead of earnings release from Cisco Systems (CSCO: chart) after the close. The Dow was dragged down by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: chart) which lost 1% on news that Eastman Kodak (EK: chart) is introducing higher-priced printers with lower-priced cartridges. Apple (APPL: chart) declined 0.6% after Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) sad it was testing a download service. National Semiconductor (NSM: chart) dropped 4.4% after the company projected a 14% to 15% drop in Q3 revenue, due to lower shipments. The downside move was limited by gains for blue chips Alcoa (AA: chart), Dupont (DD: chart) and Coca Cola (KO: chart). Hewlett-Packard Co.

In earnings news, McClatchy Co. newspaper publisher, rose 2.4% after the company posted a Q4 loss following the sale of its largest newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The company''s earnings before one-time expenses topped expectations. Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS: chart) fell 5.5% after the casino company''s Q4 profit rose 3.3% amid increased revenue in Macau and Las Vegas. In late morning trading, the Dow fell 6.16, or 0.05%, to 12,655.58. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 1.14, or 0.08%, to 1,445.85, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 10.27, or 0.42%, to 2,460.33. Bond prices fell while investors waited for the Fed officials'' remarks, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.82% from 4.81% late Monday.


9:45AM Market opened slightly higher. Rising oil boosted energy stocks
Wall Street opened slightly higher, with investors awaiting speeches by top Fed Reserve officials. An increase by the oil price provided some boost to energy stocks like Exxon Mobil (XOM: chart) and Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart). Anadarko Petroleum (APC: chart) also advanced on news that its Q4 profit more than doubled. However, shares of BP (BP: chart) dropped 1% after the oil giant reported a 22% profit drop and warned of lower future production. The Dow Jones Industrial average was supported by gains for Alcoa ((AA), Intel (INTC: chart), and Coca Cola (KO: chart). The blue-chip stock Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) also provided a lift after the retailer announced that it is testing a possible video download service.

Elsewhere, Bankrate (RATE: chart) rose 11% after posting 50% profit jump in Q4 on robust advertising on its Web sites. International Securities Exchange (ISE: chart), the largest U.S. equity options market, reported 51% profit increase in Q4, helped by robust trading on the electronic marketplace. The stock climbed 9% in early trading. In merger-and-acquisition news, Mortgage insurance provider MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG: chart) agreed to buy rival Radian Group Inc. for $4.9 billion in stock to form a mortgage and credit risk insurance company with total assets of nearly $15 billion. MGIC Investment shares jumped 10%. Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP: chart) rose 1% after the real estate investment trust approved an improved bid for the company from Blackstone Group, valued at $55.50 a share cash, or about $39 billion. In the first hour of trading, the Dow rose 11.30, or 0.09%, to 12,673.04. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 2.85, or 0.20%, at 1,449.84, and the Nasdaq composite index added 5.96, or 0.24%, to 2,476.56. Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.82% from 4.81% late Monday.


9:30AM NY-2:30PM London The FTSE 100 advanced on bid speculation.
The UK market was trading higher on Tuesday. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 was trading 25.4 points, or 0.56%, higher at 6,343.3. Supermarket groups were again in favor, with Tesco and William Morrison leading the advance as the market awaits further bid developments at J Sainsbury. Reportedly, private equity firm Cinven is in talks with Texas Pacific Group on a possible bid for the supermarket chain. Morrison rose 2.7%, while Tesco gained 2.5%. UBS also upgraded both Tesco and William Morrison. Lloyds TSB was also 1.6% higher on positive broker comment. Credit Suisse raised the rating on the bank from neutral to outperform. Bid talk also lifted Cable & Wireless, 2.3% higher, as reports suggest that Deutsche Telekom was considering a move for the UK group. The record defense budget that President George Bush requested from Congress boosted BAE Systems 3.2% higher. Aviva was another advancer up 0.3% on 25% growth in life and pensions sales in the UK.

Decliners

There were few decliners on the market, led by BP. The oil company was forced to cut its growth expectations for the next few years on weak results. BP forecasts production of more than 4.0 million barrels by 2009 and more than 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2012. The stock dipped 1.6%. Royal Dutch Shell followed suit and also declined 0.3%.


9:00AM Market futures pointed slightly higher ahead of Fed officials’ comment.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher opening on strong results from Tyco and corporate news from Wal-Mart. Investors also awaited comments from top Federal Reserve officials for clues about the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) said it was launching a test version of a video download service, which will include more than 3,000 movies and TV titles from major Hollywood studios and TV networks. The service will compete with Apple Inc.''s (AAPL: chart) download service. In earnings news, Tyco International (TYC: chart) reported Q1 earnings rise of 43%, citing increased demand for its electronics and fire and security technology. Excluding non-recurring items, earnings would have topped analyst forecasts. Shares of the company gained 1.3% in pre-open. Duke Energy (DUK: chart) reported Q4 earnings decline, but results excluding special items topped expectations. Cisco Systems (CSCO: chart) which is due to report quarterly results after the close gained 1.1% in pre-open trading.

Among other pre-market highlights, Toyota Motor (TM: chart) reported a 7% profit rise in Q4. Shares in BP (BP: chart) fell 1.3% in pre-market trading after the oil giant reported a 22% profit drop and warned of future production decrease. In other corporate news, International Business Machines (IBM: chart) inched up in pre-market trading. Late Monday the company said it sold its 3.5% stake in Lenovo for $123 million, selling its shares at roughly a 7% discount. S&P 500 futures edged up 1.30 points at 1,455.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 3.50 points at 1,809.00. Dow industrial futures improved 12 points to 12,715.


8:30AM NY-7:30PM Mumbai Sensex declines dragged by large-caps.
The Sensex on BSE finished 37.71 points, or 0.26%, lower, at 14,515.90. The market-breadth was positive as 1,399 shares advanced on BSE, 1,271 declined and 48 remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 18 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE surged to Rs 6,084 crore, compared to Rs 4,719 crore on Monday, as three block deals of 23.14 lakh shares each in TCS were struck. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 9,840.6 crore, higher than Rs 9,185.62 crore on Monday.

Economic news

Higher Education Secretary R P Aggarwal hinted that the government is for a 100% foreign direct investment in higher education. The current Foreign Education Bill allows a 50% foreign direct investment in higher education.