On the corporate new front, Apple (APPL: chart) fell 1.6% amid reports that the company''s CEO Steve Jobs was given 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the authorization of the company''s board. U.S. industrial goods manufacturer Eaton Corp. (ETN: chart) agreed on Thursday to buy AT Holdings Corp., the parent of Argo-Tech Corp., for $695 million, trying to expand its aerospace business. The deal is expected to close in Q1 of 2007.

In world news, Asian internet and phone companies may take at least two weeks to restore services, struggling to fix undersea cables damaged by earthquakes off Taiwan. Companies have been suffering from the loss of online services since Dec. 26 when a 7.1 magnitude quake struck southern Taiwan. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.74, or 0.15%, to 12,491.83, retreating from its record close of 12,510.57. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 2.25, or 0.16%, to 1,424.59, and the Nasdaq composite index gave up 6.00, or 0.25%, to 2,425.22.


Existing home sales surprisingly advanced in November.
Thursday morning, the National Association of Realtors released its report on existing home sales in the month of November, showing that existing home sales unexpectedly increased compared to the previous month. The report showed that existing home sales rose 0.6 percent to a seasonally annual rate of 6.28 million units in November from an unrevised 6.24 million unit rate in October. Economists had expected existing home sales to fall to a 6.15 million unit rate.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly gained in December.
The Conference Board released its report on consumer confidence in the month of December on Thursday, showing that its consumer confidence index came in well above economist estimates after an upwardly revised reading for the previous month. The report showed that the consumer confidence index rose to 109.0 in December from an upwardly revised 105.3 in November. Economists had expected the index to fall to 102.0 from the 102.9 originally reported for the previous month.

Initial jobless claims rose less than expected.
Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended December 23, showing that jobless claims rose less than economists had been expecting. The report showed that jobless claims rose to 317,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 316,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to increase to 320,000 compared to the 315,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Department also said that the less volatile 4-week moving average fell to 315,750 from the previous week''s revised average of 326,000. Additionally, the report also showed that continuing claims in the week ended December 16 rose to 2.530 million from the preceding week''s revised level of 2.514 million.


9:30 AM The FTSE 100 slips on Thursday as decline in Vodafone weighs.
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 9.7, or 0.2%, to 6,235.50 in early trade in London, as 51 stocks declined and 44 advanced.

Decliners

Vodafone, the largest mobile-phone company in the world, lost 0.7%, as Essar Teleholdings Ltd., which is in possession of 33% of Hutchison Essar, has offered $11 billion for the rest of the company, turning the battle for control of the Indian mobile phone company into a three way fight with Vodafone and Reliance Communications

BP, the second-largest oil company by market value in Europe, shed 0.9% as crude oil traded below $61 a barrel, near a one-month low, due to mild weather reducing demand for heating fuel.

BG Group oil and gas leader, dipped 1.1% after it agreed to purchase a power plant in the New England region of the U.S. for $685 million.

Advancers

Chemical and paints firm ICI is one of the major advancers, rising 1.6%, after reports suggested it could be a bid target for Dutch rival Akzo Nobel.

HSBC, the biggest bank by market value in Europe, advanced 0.2% and Barclays, the third- largest bank by assets in the U.K., advanced 0.3%.

BHP Billiton and Anglo American advanced 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively on copper, aluminum and zinc increase on the London Metal Exchange.

PartyGaming surged 4.2%. The biggest Internet poker company in the world announced it is in talks on buying assets from Empire Online Ltd.

International Hotel Group has kept its winning streak after the stellar performance yesterday as bid rumors continue to circulate.


9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a lower opening on profit taking.
Following two days of solid post-Christmas gains, U.S. stock market looked poised for lower opening Thursday. Stock futures pointed to the downside, with profit taking expected as well as volatile trading session for Apple Computer on concerns over its stock-option granting practices. Apple Computer (AAPL: chart) dropped 2.1% in pre-market trading on reports that CEO Steve Jobs was handed 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required authorization from the company''s board of directors. Apple shares had a volatile session Wednesday before ultimately closing a penny higher.