1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed down as the banking sector weighed.
European stock markets closed in the negative on Monday, despite positive news from Swiss giants Novartis and Nestle. The banking sector weighed as investors digested a 67-billion-euro bid launched by Barclays to buy ABN Amro. Shares of ABN Amro turned lower to close down 1.4% after a potential bidding consortium cancelled talks they were due to have with the Dutch bank on Monday. Barclays shares lost 2.3%. As part of the Barclays deal, ABN Amro agreed to sell its Chicago-based bank, LaSalle, to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion. In other deal news, Scottish & Newcastle shares climbed 2.8% amid a report that SABMiller and Diageo held talks about a joint bid for the U.K. brewer. The German DAX Xetra 30 closed down 0.1% at 7,335.62, while the U.K. FTSE 100 lost 0.1% at 6,479.70. The French CAC-40 fell 0.4% at 5,917.32 a morning after the first round of the French presidential election. Banking group Societe Generale also weighed, falling 2.5%.


11:30AM U.S. market averages traded in a lackluster fashion.[/R
U.S. stocks traded in a lackluster fashion, with the Dow a little off the 13,000 mark weighed down by Pfizer (PFE: chart). The company lost 1.4% following a brokerage downgrade on its stock. Hasbro (HAS: chart), the No. 2 U.S. toymaker, climbed 7% after it reported quarterly profit well above analyst estimates. Biotech stocks were the most notable gainers, driven higher by surging MediImmune on the back of a $15.6 billion buyout offer from AstraZeneca. MedImmune (MEDI: chart) soared 17.9%, while AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) dropped 5%.

Oil service stocks also posted some strength in morning trading. National Oilwell Varco (NOV: chart) rose 2.5% and Noble (NE: chart) gained 1.8%, turning in two of the sector''s best performances. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.06, or 0.03%, at 12.957.92, after rising to 12,983.92, a new trading high. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 0.13, or 0.01%, at 1,484.48, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.40, or 0.02, 2,526.79. With little economic data on the schedule Monday, bonds fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.69% from 4.67% late Friday.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened modestly higher.
Wall Street posted modest gains at opening on Monday, reflecting some profit taking after last-week strong gains, as well as news of two mega mergers, including the UK''s Barclays which agreed to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro for $91 billion in the biggest bank deal in history. Shares in ABN Amro slipped 1.4%, while Barclays dropped 2.1%. Bank of America (BAC: chart) agreed to buy ABN Amro''s U.S. bank, LaSalle. In another deal, drug maker AstraZeneca agreed to pay $15.6 billion for U.S. biotech company MedImmune, sending biotechnology stocks notably higher. AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) shares lost 4.3%, while MedImmune (MEDI: chart) surged 17.5%.

Among blue-chip stocks, Pfizer (PFE: chart) lost 1% after Prudential downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight, citing a lack of catalysts to drive the stock price higher. Exxon Mobil (XOM: chart) fell 0.3% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the oil company to hold from buy, citing valuation. On the upside, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT: chart) and IBM (BM: chart) advanced after both were upgraded by brokers. Caterpillar rose 1.5%, while IBM gained almost 1%. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 4.80, or 0.04%, at 12.966.78. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.56, or 0.11%, at 1,485.91, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 2.25, or 0.09%, 2,528.64. Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.69% from 4.67% late Friday


9:30AM London equities are little changed Monday despite M&A.
The UK market was little changed on Monday. The FTSE 100 was unable to hold opening gains, falling 0.1% to 6,483.4.

Advancers

Scottish & Newcastle led the advancers, up 2.4% on reports that Diageo and SABMiller were considering making a break-up bid for the brewer. British Airways added 0.2 % as it had reportedly approached a number of private equity groups about a possible bid for Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier.

Mining stocks advanced in line with firmer metals prices on commodities markets. Antofagasta was 1 % higher and was Vedanta 0.8% stronger. Property stocks also returned to the upside. Land Securities was 0.9% higher and Slough Estates recovered 0.7%.

Decliners

Barclays fell 1.5% after news of its offer for ABN saw shares in the Dutch Bank breached the 36.25 euros per share level of the all-paper recommended offer, up 2.2%. ABN officials are today due to hear details of a rival break-up bid from Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Fortis.

AstraZeneca fell 2.1% after it unveiled plans to spend $15.2 billion on the acquisition of MedImmune of the US. GlaxoSmithKline is also down 1.1%. 888 also fell after Ladbrokes walked away from a bid for the online gaming group. 888 fell more than 2%.


9:15AM Asian stocks finished higher Monday with Japan ending slightly higher.
Asian markets finished mostly higher on Monday. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.02% to 17,455.37. Hoya, a tech company to report its earnings during the current earnings period, closed down 3.4%. The results were not disappointing but investors thought they were not strong enough to spark new buying incentives. Komatsu soared 4.8% after Caterpillar reported Friday better-than-expected quarterly earnings and lifted its outlook for 2007. Tokyo Star Bank gained 4.2% after reports that Lone Star Group is gearing to sell possibly its entire 67% stake in the bank.

In Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index shed 0.05% to close at 20,556.57. China Mobile and HSBC, traded in the opposite direction to each other Monday. China Mobile fell 2.8% after it reported its first-quarter results after Friday market close. HSBC continued its upward trend on a report that Saudi Arabia-based investor Maan al-Sanea, the second-largest shareholder in the bank, is considering boosting his stake in the bank. HSBC gained 0.3%.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, closed up 0.7% at 1,544.35, after hitting a new intraday high of 1,554.50 during the session. Posco, the world third-largest steelmaker by output, continued gaining, ending 3.6% higher. Heavy-equipment maker Doosan Infracore surged 5.7% and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, which owns 40% of Infracore, rose 2.8%. Hyundai Heavy Industries, of which the heavy equipment business accounts for about 10% of its total revenue, gained 4.9%.