4:30PM After the close earnings shine for most companies.

- Dow up 73.16, Nasdaq up 5.05 and S&P up 8.02 points.
-Crude oil up 91 cents $74.61 per barrel.
-Gold up $7.20 to close at $667.40, silver up 25 to $14.11 and copper closed at $3.41.
-Yields on 10-year bond 5.12% and 30-year bond 5.193%

Market averages maintained the upward bias in the trading session despite weaker dollar, rising oil and metals prices. Gold and silver rose to a record high. Gold rose 1%. International tensions related to Iran, U.S. budget and trade deficit and U.S. hawkish stance to start third war kept dollar on defensive, gold and oil on the rise.

Metals traders are now looking for gold to rise above $700 and silver to cross $15.50 per ounce. Crude oil can spike in the coming months if Hurricane season plays havoc as it did in 2005. U.S. gasoline demand sees no sign of decline and so far for the year the annual consumption is set to rise more than 1%. Gasoline prices are 32% from a year ago and yet there is no sign of the consumption slow down.

Market averages continued to climb on solid earnings from Verizon. Auto sales for April month were lower than anticipated and housing stocks declined on earnings warnings from Hovnanian Enterprise. After the close Plantronics (PLT) reported earnings of 43 cents vs. 51 cents a year ago. Pacer International (PACR) reported earnings of 36 cents vs. 30 cents a year ago and EDS (EDS) reported revenue rise of 7% but earnings rose to 5 cents vs. 1 cent a year ago. DreamWorks (DWA) reported a decline in earnings to 12 cents vs. 44 cents a year ago on 60% decline in revenue. Allied Waste (AW) reported earnings of 8 cents vs. 5 cents on revenue rise of 7%.


3:30PM April Auto sales decline.
Market averages continued to rally in the final hour of trading led by large industrial companies including Honeywell, Rockwell Automation, Caterpillar, Deere & Co and Boeing. Auto stocks were on the decline on the lower sales for the April month.

Auto sales for the April month declined led by General Motors sales. GM (GM) sales for the month declined 11%, Chrysler Group’s domestic U.S. sales fell 8% and that for Ford (F) dropped 6.6%. Toyota Motors (TM) saw its sales in April rise 4.5%, Honda Motors rose 2.5% but sales at Nissan were off 5.3% for the month. Annualized sales for the month came in at 16.6 million lower from 17.2 million a year ago and up a fraction from the sales in month of March.

Home builders came under renewed pressure after Hovnanian Enterprise lowered its earnings outlook for the quarter and for the year. The company lowered its second quarter earnings to a range of $1.40 to $1.50 from $1.55 to $1.80 a share. Hovnanian (HOV) lost 7% dragging other home builders down with it including Toll Brothers (TOL), Beazer Homes (BZH) and K B Homes (KBH).

12:30PM European markets closed sharply higher.
European markets closed higher on strong resource stocks and corporate news. Commodities, oil and gas stocks advanced with Cairn Energy and Xstrata standing out among gainers. However, Spain’s Repsol declined 1% after Bolivia nationalized its natural gas sector. Oil prices hovered over $74 a barrel, while gold futures traded about $667 per ounce. In corporate news, Credit Suisse Group rose 1.5% after reporting Q1 net income growth of 36%. French Lafarge gained 1.1% on 28% sales increase in the first quarter. Telecoms group Alcatel and beer maker Heineken gained on brokerage upgrade, rising 1% and 2.3% respectively. The German DAX 30 climbed 0.7%, the French CAC 40 rose 1%, and London FTSE 100 climbed 1%.

Crude oil prices jumped above $74 on continued supply disruption concerns and strong fund buying. Light sweet crude June delivery gained 50 cents to $74.20 a barrel. London Brent rose 21 cents to $74.10. European gold futures surged. In London the precious metal rose to $663.60 per troy ounce, up from $657.50. In Zurich gold traded at $665.25. In Hong Kong gold climbed $19.20 to close at $657.80. Silver rose to $14.10 from $13.92. The U.S. dollar dropped in European trading. The euro traded at $1.2640, up from $1.2585. The dollar bought 113.28, down from 113.48 yen. The British pound was quoted at $1.8381, up from $1.8245.


11:30AM Stocks were positive in late morning.
Stocks traded in the positive with the three major averages posting strength after the late-afternoon weakness Monday when market turned to heavy sell-off as CNBC reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that his comments on interest rates last week had been misinterpreted by the markets. On Tuesday rate-sensitive utilities stocks showed a strong move back to the upside after falling sharply on Monday. Oil service stocks moved notably higher, sending the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up 1.3%. Natural gas and oil stocks also extended yesterday’s gains. Gold stocks were other conspicuous gainers, benefiting from a continued increase in the price of the precious metal, contributing to a 1.3% gain by the Amex Gold Bugs Index. Some networking and computer hardware stocks showed notable gains, leading the tech-heavy Nasdaq modestly up. At the same time, weakness in the biotechnology sector helped to limit the upside for the Nasdaq. The Amex Biotechnology Index fell 1.9%, reflecting notable losses by Vertex (VRTX) and Genentech (DNA). In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.62, or 0.4%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 4.25, or 0.33%, and the Nasdaq composite index added 0.85, or 0.04%.


10:30AM Sensex hits an all-time high.
Sensex in India closed 176.22 points up, at 12,218.78. BSE’s turnover was Rs 4,897 crore for the day, up from Friday's Rs 4,823 crore. HDFC Bank reported strong quarterly results to become yet another fast-growing company in the booming Indian economy. ICICI Bank closed up 5% to Rs. 620 on 28% rise in net income in the fourth quarter. Indus Bank, UTI Bank and United Western Bank close up 5% or better in strong rally in banking stocks. Other companies posted robust results, such as Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Satyam Computer, TCS, Wipro, Cipla, Grasim Industries and Maruti Udyog. Reliance Industries posted surprisingly good earnings on strong refining margins. Infosys also joined in, announcing growth expectations of 26% to 28% for fiscal 2007.

Dr Reddy’s Lab soared 17% on a probable gain from a U.S. court ruling, while shares of Ranbaxy advanced on a high volume. Top bank gainers were Bank of India, up 8% to Rs 134.60, Andhra Bank, up 6% to Rs 85, and Vijaja Bank, up 6% to Rs 56.20. Cement companies were down in late trading after the government announced that Cement Manufacturers’ Association will be asked about the surging prices. ACC lost 3.3% to Rs. 979, Gujarat Ambuja declined 2.5% to Rs. 121 and Grasim dropped 2.4% to close at Rs. 2,455. In automotive stocks, Maruti Udyog advanced 1.7% to Rs 940 on positive sales news. Zee Telefilms jumped 8.5% to close at Rs. 287 on strong trading volume of 3.3 million shares.


9:45AM Stocks opened higher on strong quarterly earnings.
Stocks moved into the positive, lifted by upbeat earnings news. Strong quarterly earnings from Verizon (VZ) sent the stock up 1%, helping lift market sentiment as the company posted 7% drop in quarterly profit, but its results before special items beat analyst estimates. St. Paul Travelers Cos. (STA) gained 4.6% and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) rose 7%, helping to offset worries about interest rate increases. Gains by networking stocks contributed to the early market strength. Energy stocks extended yesterday’s advance, moving higher on a continued increase by the price of oil, currently trading over $74 a barrel. Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) were up 1.1% and ConocoPhillips (COP) shares were up 1.6%.

Among declining stocks, Clayton Holdings (CLAY) dropped 19%, followed by Steven Madden (SHOO), down 8% on lower same-store sales and cautious Q2 profit outlook. Natus Medical (BABY) was another notable decliner, falling 12%. Market also awaited the release of monthly auto sales figures, with General Motors (GM) expected to lead an industry decline. The overall sales rate, known as the SAAR, is expected to come in at 16.6 million vehicles, down from 17.2 million a year ago. In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 32 points at 11,375, the Nasdaq Composite index gained 7 points to 2,312, and the S&P 500 rose 4 points to 1,309. Bonds recovered slightly from a steep sell-off the day before, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 5.12% from 5.14% late Monday.