9:45AM U.S. markets opened lower, despite positive news from Merrill Lynch and Verizon.
Wall Street opened in the negative on Monday, as investors digested data which showed tame inflation and spending growth. Upbeat earnings from Verizon Communication and a share buyback from Merrill Lynch failed to give a strong boost. Verizon (VZ: chart) quarterly results topped expectations but the stock added only 0.2%. Merrill Lynch (MER: chart) inched up 0.2% on plans to buy back up to $6 billion of its own stock under a new share repurchase program. The company completed a $5 billion buyback program in October 2006 and a $6 billion program in February 2006.

Among companies in focus, Delta Air Lines (DALRQ: chart) tumbled 66% as the U.S. air carrier emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a year ahead of schedule after a 19-month restructuring. The airline said that now it has better positions to compete as a result of its turnaround plan. In merger-and-acquisition news, International Securities Exchange (I(SE)) surged 41% amid reports that it is in talks to be acquired by Deutsche Boerse for $2.8 billion. In another deal, Dominion Resources (D: chart) agreed to sell its Gulf of Mexico fields to Eni (E: chart) for $4.76 billion.

On the economic news front, the Commerce Department said that core personal consumption index rose 2.1% in the past 12 months, but came down from a 2.4% rise in February. U.S. consumer spending grew a little less than expected, while personal incomes rose slightly higher than forecast. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 13.17, or 0.10%, to 13,107.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 1.65, or 0.11%, to 1,492.42, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 7.73, or 0.30%, to 2,549.48.

Personal income rose 0.7% in March, while personal spending added 0.3%.
Monday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on personal income and spending in the month of March, showing that personal income rose more than expected while personal spending rose less than expected. The report showed that personal income rose 0.7 percent in March, matching an upwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in February. The increase came in modestly above economist estimates of a 0.5 percent increase. The stronger than expected increase in personal income came as private wage and salary disbursements increased by $38.3 billion in March compared with an increase of $25.3 billion in the previous month.

At the same time, the Commerce Department said that personal spending rose 0.3 percent after an upwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in February. Economists expected personal spending to rise 0.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. With the growth in personal income outpacing the growth in personal spending, the report also showed some improvement in personal saving, which was a negative $79.3 billion in March compared with a negative $118.8 billion in February. The Commerce Department also said that its closely watched reading on core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in March compared to the 2.4 percent year-over-year growth seen in the previous month.


9:30AM FTSE 100 advances in mid-day trading Monday on Cable & Wireless.

The UK benchmark index was higher in mid-day trading on Monday. The FTSE 100 gained 0.65% to trade at 6,460.

Economic news

In economic news, UK mortgage approvals jumped to 75,098 in March, a four-month high, far surpassing February’s 54,659, according to data from the British Bankers Association out Monday. But the figure was still well below the equivalent month in 2006 when approvals topped 85,000, suggesting the three rate rises since last August are beginning to bite.

Advancers

Cable and Wireless leads the advancers, up over 4% as the company is considering a break-up through separate sales of its British and international businesses to private equity groups or foreign rivals in Europe or India.

Clothing retailer Next also surged after Morgan Stanley boosted its recommendation on the stock to overweight from equal-weight and upped its price target.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and ABN Amro are still in focus as their bid triangle unfolds. Reports suggested ABN Amro faces a lawsuit if it reneges on a deal to sell its LaSalle offshoot to Bank of America, which was agreed as part of the merger terms with Barclays. Barclays was 0.76% higher.

Miners staged a good performance with Antofagasta, up 0.71% and Xstrata, 1.88% higher. Fellow mining company Kazakhmys announced first quarter copper cathode production rose 12% and copper in concentrate production increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2006. Shares of Kazakhmys rose 0.61%.

Decliners

There were very few decliners including metal treatment group Bodycote which plunged 8.62% after the ending of Swiss group Sulzer bid interest on Friday. Royal Bank of Scotland is also slightly lower, down 0.21%.


9:15AM U.S. stock futures turned higher on inflation data.
U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher, lifted by upbeat earnings reports and data which showed that core inflation declined. The Commerce Department said that U.S. consumer spending grew 0.3% in March while inflation pressures declined. Personal income rose 0.7% in March, higher that the 0.6% expected by analysts. Core inflation was flat in March.

Among pre-market highlights, RadioShack (RSH: chart) jumped 8.2% after it posted Q1 earnings rise on lower costs. The electronics retailer said net income jumped to 31 cents per share, up from 6 cents a year earlier, beating estimates of a profit of 14 cents per share. Humana (HUM: chart) posted a 15% drop in Q1 profit but beat analyst expectations. The health insurer also raised its full-year earnings forecast.