4:00PM NY – 10:00PM Germany
Late session rally in New York propelled Nasdaq to five-year high and S&P 500 to six-year high.

-Yield on 10-year bonds closed at 4.567% and 30-year closed at 4.677%.

-Crude Oil fell 30 cents to close at $58.28 per barrel, natural gas rose 8 cents to close at $7.975 per mBtu.

-Gold dropped 50 cents to close at $625.30 per ounce, silver rose 0.5 cents to close at $12.89 and copper 1.4 cents to close at $3.089 per pound.

-Asian Markets closed higher across the region led by a gain of 2.0% in Indonesia, 1.7% in Japan and 0.95% in Taiwan. South Korea gained 0.8%, Malaysia rose 1% and Singapore added 0.5%. Philippines dropped 0.7% and Thailand lost 0.4%.

-European Markets closed lower in the region led by a 0.3% fall in France and 0.1% drop in U.K., Germany and the Netherlands. Norway gained 0.8% and South Africa rose 0.5%. Deutsche Borse is not likely to

-Latin American Markets closed higher across the region led by 1.7% rise in Brazil, 1.4% gained in Chile, 1.0% spurt in Argentina and 0.4% plus in Mexico.

1:00PM European markets closed slightly lower.
European stock markets closed modestly lower on Tuesday, reflecting worries about the strength of the European economy and losses for steel stocks. Tame U.S. inflation data and gains in the telecommunications sector failed to offset the decline. Economic data, showing weaker-than-forecast euro-zone economic growth and a 13-year low for a poll of investor sentiment toward Germany, also contributed to the weakness. Telecoms were in focus, with Vodafone rising 4%, Spanish Telefonca, up 1.2%, and Telekom Austria, up 2.1% on strong Q3 results. However, shares of BT Group slipped 1% after the company was downgraded to peer perform at Bear Stearns.

The German DAX edged down 0.1%, with steelmakers Voestalpine and Salzgitter weighing on the index after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stocks. The French CAC 40 dropped 0.3%, with Euronext falling 3.8% on reports the Deutsche Boerse won't offer a higher bid and may drop out of the race to buy it. Deutsche Borse closed down 1.8%. London FTSE 100 ended down 0.1%. A heavy drag on the index was Acambis which tumbled 39% after it said that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is no longer considering it for the tender process for the smallpox vaccine Vaccinia Ankara.

Crude oil prices were steady on Tuesday. Crude oil December contract fell 3 cents to $58.55 a barrel. Heating oil added 1.3 cents to $1.6729 a gallon, while gasoline gained 2.3 cents to $1.5601. Natural gas futures slipped 4 cents to $7.855 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 58 cents to $59.63. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2799, down from $1.2810. The dollar bought 117.68 yen, down from 118.12. The British pound stood at $1.8930, down from $1.9013. European gold prices extended decline. In London, gold traded at $621 per troy ounce, down from $622.80. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $620.20 per ounce, down from $622.65. Silver closed at $12.75, down from $12.85.


11:30AM Stocks erased earlier gains on concerns about the health of the economy.
U.S. stock markets turned lower retreating from earlier gains, as concerns about the health of the economy and weak financial results from Home Depot offset data, showing that inflation is slowing and consumer spending is stronger than expected. Profit taking also contributed to the weakness in the markets. Airline, biotechnology, gold, and transportation stocks moved notably lower as traders cashed in on recent gains. Meanwhile, gains by housing stocks helped to limit losses, with the sector benefiting from the tame inflation data. D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI: chart) drove the housing sector higher, jumping 8% on quarterly results. Oil service stocks also showed strength, driven by higher oil prices.

Home depot (HD: chart), home improvement retailer, traded down 1% after reporting a 3% profit drop, with both profit and sales missing estimates. The company also cut its full-year outlook. Among strong retail performances, Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) rose 2.1% as the world's largest retailer reported 11% jump in quarterly profit, although the company cut its full-year outlook. Target (TGT: chart) added 0.7% after posting a better-than-expected 16% jump in Q3 earnings, driven by strong sales and a big jump in credit-card revenues. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 37.94, or 0.31%, to 12,093.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.15, or 0.30%, to 1,380.27, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.61, or 0.36%, to 2,397.77. Bonds rose on the inflation news, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.56% from 4.59% late Monday.


10:30AM The Sensex advances Tuesday on strong buying momentum in IT stocks.
The Sensex on BSE advanced 26.50 points, or 0.20%, to end at 13,425.50. The market-breadth turned negative on profit-booking in small-cap and mid-cap. As 1,625 shares declined on BSE, 929 advanced and 65 stocks were unchanged. From the Sensex stocks 18 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,139 crore, higher than Rs 3,943 crore on Monday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,071.78 crore, higher than Rs 6744.13 crore on Monday.

Economic news

The pharmaceuticals ministry in India promised on Tuesday a new pharmaceuticals policy would include tax breaks to boost domestic producers, but a trade official said some proposed rules would in effect nationalise the sector.

Most active stocks

TCS was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 943.50 crore followed by Indiabulls, Glenmark, Hindustan Zinc and Infosys.

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