4:00PM Fall in oil sustains the third day of rally on Wall Street.

-Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.877% and 30-year bond closed at 5.007%.
-Crude oil dropped $1.83 to close at $70.06 per barrel.
-Gold closed $13.60 lower at $619.30 per ounce.

-Asian Markets closed mixed with Japan down 0.31% and Australia up 1.8%. South Korea and Indonesia gained 0.95% and Singapore rose 0.7%.

-European Markets struggled to close higher led by 0.35% rise in Germany, Spain and Switzerland. South Africa gained 1.5% and Russia lost 0.4%.

-Latin American Markets closed lower led by 0.6% loss in Brazil and Argentina. Mexico eked out a small gain of 0.15%. Brazil released a record current account surplus.

For the third day averages managed to close higher. A drop of 2.5% in oil price and strong earnings from Hewlett Packard (HPQ) kept buyers in control for most of the day. The mild gain in averages was not reflected in broader trading as several stocks declined, notable energy related stocks. Retailers, investment bankers, retail banks and Internet stocks advanced but energy, mining and construction related stocks lost the ground.

Merck (MRK) lost 5% on court case losses in two separate trials. A jury in New Orleans found the company negligent in Vioxx heart attack and ordered the company to pay $50 million to plaintiff. In a separate case in New Jersey, a judge threw out Merck victory in an earlier Vioxx Case. There are more than 14,000 lawsuits pending related to Vioxx.

Hewlett Packard reported third quarter earnings of 48 cents or $1.38 billion compared to 3 cents or $73 million a year ago. In the previous year the company had repatriated profit form international operations to take advantage offered by the U.S. Congress. The company also reported revenue gain of 5.4%. The company board also authorized $6 billion for stock repurchase plan.


12:30PM European markets finished in the positive.
European markets ended in the positive territory after a lackluster trading session with no major data reports and little corporate news. Still, sharply lower oil prices provided support for the market. Crude oil slipped $1.09 to trade at $70.80 a barrel on easing supply concerns and cooling Mid-east tensions. Subsequently, a number of companies benefited from the lower prices, but companies in the energy sector posted losses, including French Total, down 0.8%. Among advancing stocks, Ciba Specialty Chemicals jumped 9.8%, truck maker Volvo rose 5% and automaker Renault gained 2.8%, while Van der Moolen added 2.1%. The German DAX 30 gained 0.4%, the French CAC 40 edged up 0.2%, and London FTSE 1200 inched up 0.1%.

Oil price hit an eight-month low on easing supply concerns and receding tensions in the Middle East. Light crude September delivery fell $1.69 to $70.20 a barrel. London Brent dropped $1.44 to $71.39. The dollar traded mixed versus major currencies. The euro traded at $1.2866, up from $1.2836. The dollar bought 115.48 yen, down from 115.87. The British pound stood at $1.8926, down from $1.8948. European gold prices dropped. In London the precious metal traded at $624.80, down from $628 per ounce. In Zurich gold traded at $623.48, down from $629.60. Silver closed at $12.13, down from $12.31.


11:30AM Stocks rebound from earlier weakness.
Stronger-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard and a sharp decline by the oil price helped stocks rebound from earlier weakness on profit taking. Crude futures hit an eight-week low to $70.55 on easing supply concerns. Dow industrial Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) jumped 5% after reporting a surge in Q2 profits, powered by strong laptop and printer sales. Another gainer was Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) which rose 7.8% to $24.33 after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy, citing n improving near-term PC market and the company''s partnership with Dell. On the side of the losers, Sears (SHLD) reported 83% profit jump, but investors remained concerned about falling sales and the retailer’s shares fell 3.4%. Merck & Co (MRK) shares fell 1.6% to $40.51 after a federal jury found the drug maker negligent in the the heart attack of a 62-year-old former FBI agent, in the second federal Vioxx trial. Over 14,000 lawsuits have been filed related to Vioxx. Another Dow Component General Motors (GM) fell 1.6% at $30.51 after J.P. Morgan downgraded the auto maker. By sector, airlines, semiconductors, and internet stocks moved to the upside, while oil services, energy and banking stocks posted weakness. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.49, or 0.15%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index added 0.89, or 0.07 percent, to 1,296.32, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 7.89, or 0.37 percent, to 2,157.43. Bonds gained ground for the third straight session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.86%% from 4.87% late Wednesday.


10:30AM Sensex keeps gaining for the seventh day in a row.
The Sensex on BSE advanced 29.17 points, or 0.25%, to close on 11,477.48. The benchmark index moved in a range of 173 points. The market breadth was weak with small-cap and mid-cap stocks declining on profit-booking. Only 871 shares advanced, while 1,603 declined and 65 stocks remained unchanged. The daily turnover on BSE came to Rs 3,835 crore, higher than Wednesday’s Rs 3,455 crore. Of the thirty stocks in the index, 15 stocks advanced and 15 stocks declined.

Reliance Communication led the gainers, rising 4.55% to Rs 297.85 on a heavy volume of 4.3 million shares. It traded in a range of Rs 281 and Rs. 289. The other leading gainers included, Dr Reddy’s, gaining 2.70% to Rs 1,490, HLL, gaining 2.20% to Rs 235.50 and Tata Motors, surging 3% to Rs 841. Reliance Industries advanced 1.63% to Rs 1,062 on 2.3 million shares, in the afternoon trading in a range of Rs 1,038 and Rs 1,078.

Reliance Energy, Tata Steel, ONGC, and Hindalco led the main decliners. Reliance Energy sank 3.55% to Rs 462, Hindalco lost 2.72% to Rs 164.40, ONGC plunged 2.20% to Rs 1212 and Tata Steel was off 2.95% to Rs 517.50.

Metal stocks traded lower as they faced wave of selling. The decliners in the sector were led by, Tata Steel and SAIL which declined 2.06% to Rs 76.15, Essar Steel traded down 3.20% to Rs 34.90, Tata Sponge lost 2.86% to Rs 108.80 and Hindustan Copper dropped 2.6% to Rs 96.35.

Sugar stocks witnessed sustained profit-taking as product prices fell. Shares of KM Sugar were down 6.05% to Rs 49, Sakthi Sugars lost 5.80% to Rs 140, Oudh Sugar plunged 5% to Rs 119.65, Dwarikesh Sugar slipped 4.40% to Rs 122.50, Bannari Amman Sugars moved back 3.85% to Rs 975, Uttam Sugar slid 6.05% to Rs 179.50 and Bajaj Hindustan declined 3.25% to Rs 335.20.

Other non-constituent stocks that advanced were Shree Precoated Steels soaring 9.30%, to Rs 175.85 on a high volume of 6.81 lakh shares after it said that it plans to raise Rs 1,163 crore by issuing securities. Jagran Prakashan advanced 2.65%, to Rs 307 in the wake of the news that Ireland''s Independent News & Media had approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, to increase its stake in the Indian firm by up to 3%. Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 1.50% to Rs 644 on 2.43 lakh shares. The company intends to introduce another new vehicle after Ingenio''s launch in 2008.

Infrastructure Development Finance Company was the most traded stock on BSE with a turnover of Rs 256.14 crore. It gained 2.72% to Rs 58.60 supported by three block deals of 1.4 crore shares each, of which two were transacted at Rs 60 per share, while the rest was struck at Rs 57.90 per share