1:00PM European markets closed higher on merger activity.
European stock markets closed in the positive Monday, lifted by merger activity in the metal and exchange sectors and weaker crude oil prices. The German DAX 30 led the regional gainers with an advance of 0.62%. The index was boosted by 2% gain for defensive utility stocks RWE and E.On, as well as lower oil. The French CAC 40 gained 0.28% and London FTSE 100 added 0.2%. Oil sensitive stocks contributed to the advance, with air line Air France-KLM and cruise operator Carnival moving higher. Mining stocks were among the most notable gainers, with copper miner Antofagasta, up 4.1% and peer Lonmin, up 1.7% as gold prices recovered from recent losses and consolidation hopes were sparked by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold''s bit to buy Phelps Dodge and create the world''s largest copper miner. Shares in the London Stock Exchange rose 6% after the Nasdaq Stock Exchange offered to pay 2.7 billion pounds to acquire the exchange. However, LSE rejected the bid.

Crude oil prices declined on mild weather. Crude oil December contract fell 36 cents to $58.61 a barrel. Heating oil lost 1 cent to $1.6595 a gallon, while gasoline inched up to $1.5464. Natural gas futures fell 16 cents to $8.020 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar declined against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2817, up from $1.2816. The dollar bought 118.17 yen, down from 117.84. The British pound was quoted at $1.8969, up from $1.8940. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $624.10 per troy ounce, up from $617.75. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $625.25 per ounce, up from $618.03. Silver closed at $12.88, up from $12.68.


11:30AM Stocks gained ground, helped by merger deals.
Stocks gained some ground in late morning trading, helped by a series of merger deals. After seeing some early weakness, stocks moved to the upside, lifting the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 modestly above the unchanged line. The Nasdaq was boosted by strength in the semiconductor sector, with Marvell (MRVL: chart), Novellus (NVLS: chart), and Broadcom (BRCM: chart) posting notable gains. At the same time, a steep loss by Verizon (VZ: chart) limited the upside for the Dow. Metal stocks continued to post strong gains on news of Freeport-McMoRan''s (FCX: chart) $25.9 billion acquisition of Phelps Dodge (PD: chart). Housing stocks posted significant weakness in late-morning trading.

In earnings news, home improvement retailer Lowe''s Cos. (LOW: chart) reported 10.8% profit rise in Q3 driven by an upside in total net sales. The company earned $716 million, or 46 cents a share, up from $646 million, or 40 cents a share a year earlier, beating estimates of 43 cents. Revenue increased to $11.2 billion, but same-store sales dropped 4%. The retailer lowered its Q4 outlook.

Among companies driven by analyst comments, ProLogis (PLD: chart), real estate investment trust, gained 4.4% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on the company''s stock to outperform from sector perform. Shares of Sonus Networks (SONS: chart) also moved sharply higher after Piper Jaffray upgraded its rating on the company to outperform from market perform on positive expectations about fiscal 2007. Sonus rose 4.4%. On the other hand, shares of Applebee''s (APPB: chart) fell down 1.2% after J.P. Morgan downgraded its rating on the restaurant operator to neutral from overweight, citing valuation.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.66, or 0.02%, at 12,345.22. The Dow hit another trading high of 12,354.91. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.26, or 0.09%, at 1,402.46, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 6.33, or 0.26%, to 2,452.19. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.60% from 4.61% late Friday.


10:30AM The Sensex rebounds in late trading on a rally in tech stocks.
The Sensex on BSE finished the trading session 1.23 points, or 0.01% higher, at 13,430.71. The market-breadth, extremely negative since the opening, kept on recovering throughout the day, but still ended in the red. For 1,530 shares that declined, 943 advanced and 64 shares were unchanged. From 30-Sensex stocks, 19 declined while the rest finished higher. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,242 crore, lower than Rs 4,472 crore on Friday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 9,628.51 crore, higher than Rs 8,720.45 crore on Friday.

Economic news

The rupee fell, ending two days of gains, on speculation that importers sold the currency after it reached a one-week high. Indian currency dropped to 44.9637 per dollar. It reached previously a high of 44.7938, the strongest since Nov. 10.

India is poised to achieve the target of attracting $10 billion of foreign direct investment this year as inflows have nearly doubled to $4.4 billion in the six months between April and September 2006. In absolute terms, Delhi region continues to remain on top of the table with $936.5 million foreign direct investment inflows, showing a growth of over 25%. The Mumbai region was second on the chart with total inflows of $867.5 million.

The central government may consider lifting a ban on sugar exports as the country is likely to witness a record production of sugarcane this year.

The European Union on Monday dragged India to the World Trade Organisation for the latter high tariffs and taxes on import of wine and spirits. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will ask the WTO to rule against Indian import taxes applied on top of normal customs duties for alcohol.

Advancers

Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel led the gainers, up 6.10% to Rs 616.55, on a volume of 3.49 lakh shares. And housing finance large-cap HDFC also jumped 3.51% to Rs 1,664.

IT stocks advanced on renewed buying. Infosys gained 3.24% to Rs 2,257, TCS rose 2.07% to Rs 1,115, Wirpo advanced 1.31% to Rs 556.50 and Satyam Computers moved 1.96% higher to Rs 442.

Index heavy Reliance Industries rose 0.38%, at Rs 1,264, on a volume of 7.97 lakh shares. The stock rebounded from a low of Rs 1,236.50, after the company said that it expects a fire-damaged hydrotreater unit at its refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to restart operations within a few days.

Development Credit Bank advanced 2.13% to Rs 52.75, after its board approved a hike in Foreign Institutional Investors ceiling from the existing 24% to 49%. Mphasis BFL surged 6.78% to Rs 281, extending its recent rally on reports that it had bid for a large $2.4 billion contract along side EDS, its American promoter.

Decliners