10:00AM NY-9:00PM Mumbai Tata Steel tops estimates, ONGS net up 20%.
Tata Steel, resource company, has reported a Q3 consolidated net profit increase of 27.3% to Rs 1,054.65 crore, or Rs 18.19 per share, higher than Rs 828.51 crore, or Rs14.93 per share for the same period the previous year. Net revenues advanced 18.86% to Rs 5,971.15 crore, up from Rs 5,023.69 crore for the same period the previous year. Revenues from the steel business rose 20.44% compared with same time a year ago and operating profits advanced 26.58%. Total income of the group advanced to Rs 6,072.28 crore for Q3, while it was Rs 5,082.38 crore in the same period a year ago.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., oil company, announced its Q3 net profit rose 20%, topping forecasts of 6% rise in net profit. The oil and gas producer reported net profit rose to Rs 4,668.310 crore from 3,887.76 crore a year ago. ONGC produces 80% of the oil and gas in India. Total income rose to Rs 16,269.01 crore from Rs 13,038.01 crore for the same time the previous year. The governement demands that ONGC sell crude at discount to refiners to keep the cost of fuel down.

The Tata Power Company Limited, power company, reported that Q3 profit after tax as well as net profits after tax stood at Rs. 279.90 crores on revenues of Rs. 1200.51 crores, compared to Rs. 227.65 crores and Rs. 1224.77 crores for the same period the previous year respectively. Sales Volume during Q3 rose by 9.05% at 3655 MUs, while units sold in the Mumbai license area advanced by 5.44%.

Gokaldas Exports Limited, manufacturer of ready-made fashion garments, has reported 13.42% rise in net profit for Q3 compared to he same time the previous year. Total revenues in Q3 advanced 14.69% and stood at Rs 245.83 crore against Rs 241.35 crore in the same period a year ago. Although interest costs were higher and stood at Rs 5.48 crore in Q3 against Rs 3.68 crore for the comparable period a year ago, the company announced that this was on account of borrowing under the textile upgradation fund of Rs 60 crore.


9:45AM Market opened mixed. Merck and 3M weighed on the Dow.
Wall Street saw a mixed performance at opening on Tuesday, reflecting cautiousness ahead of the Fed Reserve's decision on interest rates and notable declines for three blue-chip companies. The Dow was pressured by 6% decline for 3M Co. (MMM: chart) on a disappointing profit outlook. Merck (MRK: chart) also weighed on the blue-chip average, falling even after its earnings, excluding special items, matched forecasts. Merck & Co. said that its Q4 profit plunged 58% to $473.9 million, or 22 cents per share, down from $1.12 billion, or 51 cents per share a year ago. The drugmaker’s profit dropped, due to charges for restructuring costs, an acquisition and increased legal reserves, mainly for its withdrawn painkiller VioxxMerck. Fellow drug maker Wyeth (WYE: chart) lost1.9% amid disappointing earnings. Elsewhere, Colgate-Palmolive (CL: chart), fell 1%, despite a better-than-forecast profit increase.

Similarly Procter & Gamble (PG: chart) fell 1.4%, despite raising its earnings outlook. Investors weighed its organic sales growth, which came in at the lower end of its guidance. On the side of the gainers, photography and imaging company Getty Images Inc. (GYI: chart) rose 8%, despite a Q4 profit drop on restructuring and other costs. The company earned $30.3 million, or 50 cents per share, down 29% from $42.5 million, or 64 cents per share in the prior year. Excluding special items, the company earned $39.5 million, or 66 cents per share. Sales rose 10% to $203.5 million from $185.8 million. Analysts had expected earnings of 56 cents per share on sales of $195.9 million. The Dow fell 9.93, or 0.08%, to 12,480.85. The S&P 500 index was up 1.26, or 0.09%, to 1,421.88, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.08, or 0.13%, to 2,438.01. The bond market remained mostly unchanged as investors awaited a decision from the Fed Reserve on short-term interest. Bonds were mostly unchanged, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.87% from late Monday.


9:30AM NY-2:30PM London FTSE declines on weak performance by miners.
The FTSE 100 in London declined 18.6 points to 6,221.5 by mid-day on Tuesday.

Advancers

News that Sanofi-Aventis of France and Bristol-Myers Squibb of the US were in talks over a possible merger lifted the pharmaceutical sector. AstraZeneca gained 0.8%. British Airways advanced 1.6% on continued relief that the proposed strike has been called off.

Takeover talks continued to buoy food and drinks group Cadbury Schweppes, up 1.5%, and J Sainsbury, 0.8% higher. Woolworths, the retailer, gained 2.3% after it said it struck a deal to supply music, DVDs, games and books to Virgin Retail. Mortgage provider Kensington announced underlying profits increased by 17% to 65.2 million pounds last year, but it added that tough competition will result in slower profit growth this year. Its shares advanced 2.68%.

Decliners

Kazakhmys led the decliners in the mining sector, down 2.2%, despite posting a 9% rise in copper cathode production. Other miners also declined. Vedanta Resources shed 1.4%, Lonmin fell 1.5%, Xstrata retreated 1.3% and Rio Tinto dropped 1.1%.

Among mid-caps PZ Cussons shed 4%. The soap maker posted a 4.5% rise in first-half profit before tax and stated its guidance remained positive despite the impact of the continued weak dollar. IT software and services company EG Solutions announced it expects revenues to be up to 500,000 pounds lower than market expectations, resulting in a pre-tax loss for the year. Its shares plunged 27.33%.


9:00AM Market futures moved higher on strong earnings.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher opening on Tuesday, lifted by upbeat earnings results. Tuesday will see the opening of the Fed Reserve''s interest-rate decision making meeting. The Conference Board''s U.S. consumer confidence data for January is also due.

In pre-market earnings highlights, consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co. (PG: chart) reported 12% profit increase in Q2, driven by solid sales of Gillette razors and Tide detergent. The company posted net income of $2.86 billion, or 84 cents per share, up from $2.55 billion, or 72 cents per share a year ago. Revenue rose 8% to $19.73 billion. Company’s second-quarter financial results beat estimates of 83 cents per share on $19.57 billion in revenue. The blue chip company lifted its annual profit guidance. Colgate-Palmolive (CL: chart) posted better-than-expected results, while Dow component 3M Co. (MMM: chart) posted 58% profit rise, which matched expectations excluding items. Another Dow component, pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK: chart) reported quarterly earnings drop, while earnings excluding special items came in line with forecasts. Revenue rose above expectations.

After the Japanese market closed, Sony (SNE: chart) raised its full-year earnings forecast. The manufacturer said quarterly profit fell 5%, hurt by huge costs for launching its PlayStation 3 video game console. Group net profit at Sony Corp slipped to 159.9 billion yen ($1.3 billion) from 168.9 billion yen a year earlier. The electronics company said its sales jumped 9.8% to 2.61 trillion yen ($21.4 billion). In corporate news, Starbucks (SBUX: chart) was upgraded to overweight by J.P. Morgan. Shares of the coffee retailer rose 2.2% in pre-open trading. S&P 500 futures rose 3.80 points to 1,430.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 4.75 points to 1,791.50. Dow industrial futures climbed 30 points to 12,555.