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

Markets around the world rebounded on merger news in the U.S., Europe and Brazil. Japan advanced on higher earnings estimates. U.S. home builder confidence index declined on tightening mortgage lending standards. Oil and gold declined. Second half profit at PetroChina declined 13% on higher drilling costs.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.567% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.715%.

Gold declined 20 cents to close at $653.700 a troy ounce, silver increased 2 cents to end at $13.235 a troy ounce and copper advanced $66.00 to close at $6645.00 per metric ton.

Oil declined 43 cents to close at $56.680 a barrel and heating oil gained 0.320 cents to finish at 169.200 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 7.7 cents to close at $6.847 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 5.100 cents to end at 195.810 cents a gallon.

Asian markets rallied with Japan's shares gaining momentum as investors bought Advantest, NTT DoCoMo and other blue-chip stocks on expectations of higher dividend payouts. The advancers were led by India with an increase of 1.73%, Hong Kong with an advance of 1.65% and Japan with a gain of 1.59%. The decliners were Philippines with a decrease of 0.68% and Thailand with a loss of 0.28%. Australia gained 0.37%.

European markets finished higher as deal speculation prompted gains for Dutch bank ABN Amro and tobacco company Altadis. Shares of TUI advanced as it agreed to merge its tourism operations with First Choice Holidays. The advancers were led by Belgium with an advance of 2.52%, Netherlands with an increase of 2.14% and Spain with a gain of 1.95%. There were no decliners.

Latin America markets finished higher as overseas markets rallied. In Brazil, state-controlled oil giant Petrobras made an acquisition that also lifted local stocks. Mexican markets were closed for a national holiday. The advancers were led by Argentina with an increase of 1.79% and Brazil with a gain of 1.76%. There were no decliners. Canada gained 1.33%, benefiting from gains in metal and energy stocks.

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

ABN Amro (ABN: chart) jumped 9.8% as speculation mounted that it could be about to reveal merger talks with the U.K.'s Barclays. Together, the unified firm would have a market cap of roughly $130 billion, if a merger is in fact announced in the coming days.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD: chart) climbed 97.1% after it said a mid-stage trial of combination therapy using its schizophrenia drug had reached its main goal. The company said its drug, codenamed ACP-103, combined with either of two types of antipsychotic drugs currently used to treat schizophrenia, demonstrated statistically significant antipsychotic efficacy.

Force Protection Inc. (FRPT: chart) shares jumped 6% after the maker of protective vehicles reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $17 million, or 39 cents per share, on revenue of $62.9 million. The company announced that it recently received a contract modification from the British Ministry of Defence for 22 additional Cougar Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicles (Mastiff PPV). The order will bring the total number of vehicles produced for the British government to 108 at an approximate value of $70.1 million.

InfraSource Services Inc. (IFS: chart) shares jumped 13.1% after the provider of construction infrastructure services agreed to be acquired by Quanta Services (PWR: chart) for $1.26 billion in stock, or $30.13 a share. The deal represents a 17% premium to InfraSource's closing price of $25.66 on Friday. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

ServiceMaster (SVM: chart) shares climbed 12.3% after the provider of pest control and lawn care services agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice for $4.8 billion in cash. The deal values ServiceMaster at $15.625 a share, representing a 16% premium to the company's closing price on Friday. Including the assumption of debt, the transaction is valued at $5.5 billion.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO: chart) shares jumped 6.5% after the video-game maker said that it may be up for sale. The company said it is reviewing certain courses of action in light of a proxy battle with an investor group. As a result, the company pushed back its annual meeting from March 23 to March 29. The shareholder group, which owns about 45% of the company, is looking to oust the company's CEO and review the employment status of its CFO.

Accredited Home Lenders (LEND: chart) fell 14% after the company said it still had not landed a financing deal to boost its liquidity. The company said it is fighting to stay on the Nasdaq, but the exchange has warned that Accredited's stock could be delisted because the company has not filed its 2006 annual report. Accredited said it is working to file the report as soon as possible.

Fieldstone Investment Corp. (FICC: chart) declined 12.4% after the mortgage banking company and Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC late Friday lowered C-Bass's purchase price of Fieldstone to $4 per share, versus $5.53 per share previously.


1:00PM NY European markets rallied, lifted by merger speculation.
European stocks finished Monday trading session on a positive note, boosted by deal speculation in various sectors. Dutch banking group ABN Amro led the financial sector higher, rising 9.5% amid press speculation that it had received a bid offer for an 81 billion-pound ($157 billion) from Britain's Barclays. Investors believe that he acquisition bid is likely to spark a bidding war among companies interested in buying ABN Amro, including Spanish BBVA and Banco Santander, French BNP Paribas SA, and Dutch ING Groep NV. Brokers also helped the banking sector, with Deutsche Bank rising 1.7% on upgrades at Citigroup and Credit Suisse. Travel stocks were other notable gainers, with shares in Germany's TUI up 9.6% after agreeing to merge its tourism operations with U.K.-based First Choice Holidays which soared 8.5%.The tobacco sector was also in the spotlight as tobacco firm Altadis rejected a bid of 45 euros a share from Imperial Tobacco. Altadis shares rose 6.1%, while Imperial Tobacco shares slipped 1.9%. The U.K. FTSE 100 rose 1% to 6,189.40, the German DAX 30 climbed 1.4% to 6,671.41 and the French CAC-40 gained 1.4% to 5,458.95.

Crude oil prices were little changed. Light, sweet crude April delivery traded at $57.10. Heating oil rose to $1.6901. Natural gas lost 6 cents to $6.861 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 64 cents to $60.94. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3292, down from $1.3310. The dollar bought 117.52 yen, up from 116.74. The British pound traded at $1.9444, up from $1.9421. European gold prices rose. In London gold traded at $653.50 per troy ounce, up from $652.80. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $651.80, up from $650.45. Silver rose to $13.15, up from $13.12.