4:00PM NY – 10:00PM Frankfurt – 2:30AM Mumbai
Market averages closed higher on December personal spending gain of 0.7%. Gold Climbs to six-month high, crude oil and natural gas fall on inventory report. Exxon Mobil reported record profit of $39.5 billion in the year 2006. The U.K. led the rise in European exchanges. Asian markets closed higher on strength in Hong Kong and Korea.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.838% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.924%.

Gold gained $4.40 to close at $662.30 a troy ounce, silver advanced 11.5 cents to end at $13.685 a troy ounce and copper increased $96.50 to close at $5711.00 per metric ton.

Oil lost 71 cents to close at $57.430 a barrel and heating oil declined 2.20 cents to finish at 166.180 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 10.7 cents to close at $7.560 per MMBtu. Gasoline went down 2.45 cents to end at 152.790 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed higher as markets were boosted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady. The advancers were led by South Korea with a gain of 1.67%, Hong Kong with an increase of 1.61% and India with an advance of 1.25%. There were no decliners. Australia gained 0.68%.

European markets ended higher after comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve quelled inflation fears and updates from some of Europe's biggest companies, like oil major Royal Dutch Shell, France Telecom and drug maker AstraZeneca, boosted sentiment. The advancers were led by U.K. with an increase of 1.28%, Netherlands with a gain of 1.16% and France with an advance of 0.96%. There were no decliners.

Latin America markets finished were higher, helped by optimistic outlooks for the U.S. economy. The advancers were led by Mexico with a gain of 1.21%, Argentina with an increase of 0.53% and Brazil with an advance of 0.39%. Canada advanced 1.05% where gold issues were once again the driving force behind the stock market's gains, pushing the key equity index to new heights.

2:30PM – NY U.S. Market movers
A rally in U.S. stocks sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record level after the government said consumers spent more and kept retail sales humming. Personal savings in the year 2006 dropped to record low.

Children's Place Retail Stores Inc.(PLCE: chart) total sales for the quarter rose 25% ahead of Wall Street's consensus target, but warned its 2007 earnings would be lower-than-expected.

WebEx Communications (WEBX: chart) was among technology's winners, surging 18% after the provider of Web conferencing systems posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued a strong earnings guidance.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL: chart) reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and issued a strong outlook for 2007, sending company’s shares up as much as 12%.

K-Tron International Inc. (KTII: chart) net income rose 38%. The stock jumped $3 in the late afternoon trading.

SRA International Inc. (SRX: chart) plunged to a two-year low after the technology and strategic consulting services provider slashed its fiscal 2007 forecast.

Shares in W.P. Stewart & Co. (WPL: chart) plunged 21% after the company shook up senior management and disclosed a drop in assets under management. The stock is trading near its 52-week low.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS: chart) fourth-quarter profit rose 27% as more clients subscribed to programs analyzing how and where consumers spend their money.

Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT: chart) completed company’s purchase of truck stop operator TravelCenters of America Inc. for about $1.9 billion.

Investment bank Greenhill & Co. (GHL: chart) fourth-quarter profit dropped 3% on lower revenue in its merchant banking segment.

Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI: chart) profit plummeted 78 percent during company’s first quarter as a standalone business and amid falling underwear sales in a competitive market.

1:00PM European markets closed higher, helped by Royal Dutch Shell and AstraZeneca.
European stocks closed higher on Thursday, boosted by corporate news from major European companies and comments from the U.S. Fed Reserve which quelled inflation fears. Among companies in focus, Royal Dutch Shell shares rose 1.9% after it reported a 21% Q4 profit rise, Shares in peer BP rose 0.7% after it said it's selling its Coryton refinery in Essex, England, to Switzerland's Petroplus for $1.4 billion. As a result, Petroplus rallied 15.1% in Switzerland. Health care stocks also drew attention, with GlaxoSmithKline rising 1.5%. Shares in AstraZeneca rose 2.2% after it said it would buy back as much as $4 billion in shares and cut 3,000 jobs over three years. The company also said Q4 pretax profit jumped 25%. Miners were also among notable gainers, including copper miner Xstrata, up 2.5% and Rio Tinto, higher by 1.3%. The U.K. FTSE 100 index climbed 1.3% at 6,282.20, The French CAC-40 index rose 1% at 5,662.25 and the German DAX Xetra 30 index rose 0.9% at 6,851.28, with both indexes trading near six-year highs.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3024, down from $1.3033. The dollar bought 121.44 yen, down from 120.66. The British pound was quoted at $1.9704, up from $1.9647. European gold prices moved higher. In London, gold traded at $658.29 per troy ounce, up from $652.80. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $654.75 per ounce, up from $652.60. Silver closed at $13.69, up from $13.58.


11:30AM U.S. stock averages traded moderately higher.
U.S. stocks traded moderately higher, helped by optimism about corporate profits and data showing strong consumer spending. Technology stocks got a boost from Dell (DELL: chart), rising 4% on management change. At the same time Google (GOOG: chart) weighed on the sector with a drop of 2.6%. Rival company Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: chart) pressured the blue-chip average with a decline of 2%. Comcast Corp. (CMCSA: chart) also contributed to the tech weakness, falling 3% as the nation's largest cable television operator's Q4 profit missed forecast, despite tripling on 30% revenue increase. Among brokerage stocks, Lehman Brothers (LEH: chart) rose 3% after it said it will buyback 100 million shares. The buyback program supersedes the previous share repurchase authorization. The company also boosted its dividend by 25%, with the annual dividend rising to 60 cents a share from 48 cents.