4:30PM NY; 10:30PM Frankfurt; 2:00AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS

Merger news in Europe and the U.S. lifted deal driven stocks but general tone of markets on both continents was bearish. Tomorrow the U.S. is scheduled to report on inflation and housing market and earnings are scheduled from Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Hong Kong market surged to a record level on the news that Chinese pre-approved banks will be permitted to invest up to $8 billion in international markets, majority of which is likely to end up in Hong Kong. Japan reported 11% rise in current account surplus, a record level reaching 21 trillion yen for the year ending March. Two former Siemens executives were convicted on bribery related charges. Telefonica agreed to sell its controlling stake in Dutch TV content producer Endemol for a loss of 3 billion euros to a consortium led by its founder, Mediaset and Goldman Sachs.


Yield on 10-year U.S. bond closed at 4.679% and the 30-year U.S. bond closed at 4.849%.

Gold lost $2.20 to close at $670.10 a troy ounce, silver decreased 7 cents to end at $13.235 a troy ounce and copper advanced $8.000 to close at $7935.000 per metric ton.

Oil gained 9 cents to close at $62.460 a barrel and heating oil lost 1.550 cents to finish at 186.680 cents a gallon. Natural gas increased 5.3 cents to close at $7.952 per MMBtu. Gasoline went down 6.010 cents to end at 229.200 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed higher, leaving the effects of Friday's losses on strong gains in Japanese exporters. The advancers were led by Hong Kong with an advance of 2.50%, Singapore with an increase of 1.57% and India with a gain of 1.23%. The only decliner was Taiwan with a decrease of 0.01%. Australia gained 0.78%.

European markets finished lower on weakness in the metals sector. The decliners were led by France with a decrease of 0.40%, Spain with a loss of 0.34% and Germany with a decline of 0.26%. The advancers were Norway with an increase of 0.30% and Italy with a gain of 0.09%.

Latin America markets finished lower on first-quarter earnings results and profit-taking. The decliners were led by Brazil with a decrease of 0.90%, Mexico with a decline of 0.77% and Argentina with a loss of 0.21%. There were no advancers. Canada lost 0.59% on a weak materials sector.

2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Kreisler Manufacturing (KRSL: chart) shares fell 17.5% after the company announced a three-year deal with United Technologies for F119 engine components. The deal will bring in about $12 million in revenue, $2 million of which will be paid in advance.

TeleTech Holdings Inc. (TTEC: chart), which offers call center and customer management services, shares declined 9.69% after a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst cut a rating on the stock, citing a recent share price rise.

Nokia (NOK: chart) shares climbed 3.6% after the company lifted its market-share outlook for mobile devices for the second quarter, now expecting its market share to improve from the first-quarter's 36%. The world's leading mobile phone handset maker previously expected second-quarter market share to be steady.

Massey Energy Co. (MEE: chart) shares fell 14% after the U.S. filed a civil lawsuit against the fourth-largest U.S. coal producer, accusing the company of 4,633 violations of the Clean Water Act over the past six years. Based on 69,000 days of non-compliance, Massey could face $2 billion in potential fines, he said.

21st Century Holding Co. (TCHC: chart), which underwrites insurance, said that it is buying back up to $5 million of company’s common shares. The company also said that its full-year earnings outlook in a range of $2 to $2.50 per share and second-quarter profit will come in higher than the first quarter's 11 cents per share. As a result, shares of the company rose 8.7%.

Cellcom Israel Ltd. (CEL: chart) shares climbed 8% after the company reported its first-quarter net income rose 43% to 208 million shekels, or 2.13 shekels per share, equaling US$0.51 per share. Revenue climbed to 1.44 billion shekels, or about $346 million.

Inforte Corp. (INFT: chart) said that it agreed to be acquired by Business & Decision Group for $50 million, or $4.25 per share, in cash. The deal is worth about $22 million, the companies said in a statement. Shares climbed 29.7%.

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (MGIC: chart), which engages in the development, marketing, and support of application development and deployment platforms, said that its first-quarter net earnings increased to $1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a profit of $30,000, or breakeven per share, in the year-ago period. The company said revenue climbed to $16.35 million from $16.19 million last year. Shares climbed 8%.

Republic Property Trust (RPB: chart), real estate investment trust, said it is going to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. Republic Property Trust formed a special committee to assess the alternatives. This month, the company reported a net loss for the three months of $2.8 million and funds from operations for the same period of $2.8 million. During the same period in 2006, Republic Property reported net income of $61,000 and funds from operations of $4.5 million. Shares climbed 11.6%.

Active Power Inc. (ACPW: chart), which makes backup power supply systems, said that errors related to its accounting for stock options grants amounted to about $3.4 million. Active Power recorded an expense of $1.5 million, or 3 cents per share, in first quarter related to the review. Shares fell 5.5%.

Optimal Group Inc. (OPMR: chart) shares of payment processor plunged 10.6% after an analyst downgraded the stock on fears of legal action by federal prosecutors in New York, who are conducting an ongoing investigation of the online gambling industry. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York issued seizure warrants for certain company funds. The warrants cover about $4.2 million Optimal affiliate FirePay Ltd. has on deposit in a reserve account and about $15 million Optimal Payments has on deposit in a money market account.

Source Interlink Cos. (SORC: chart) shares fell 13.4% after the company said it will buy magazine publisher Primedia Inc. enthusiast media division for about $1.2 billion in cash. The unit, which Primedia said in February it would consider selling, includes more than 70 magazine titles and 90 web sites. It leaves Primedia with its Consumer Source business, which publishes free consumer guides.