In another economic report, the Labor Department reported that prices of imported goods rose 0.9% in May, as imported petroleum prices climbed 2.7%. In addition, bond yields on 10-year Treasurys jumped 5.315%, up from 5.25% on Tuesday.

In deal news, investors led by The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG revealed their bid offer of $46 a share, or $11.4 billion, for medical devices maker Biomet. Walt Disney (DIS: chart) completed the sale of ABC Radio to Citadel (CDL: chart) for $1.35 billion. S&P 500 futures fell a half point at 1,507.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5 points at 1,916.50. Dow industrial futures were up 8 points.


8:30AM Asian markets finish lower Wednesday with Japan, HK leading decliners.

Asian markets finished lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 Average finished the day 0.2% lower at 17,733. Real-estate issues were hurt the most, like Mitsubishi Estate which dropped 1.7%. Real-estate companies are sensitive to interest rates. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to close at 20,579. Property stocks led the decline in Hong Kong. Wharf Holdings fell 1.4%, Sino Land shed 0.9% and Hang Lung Properties lost 0.8%. Swire Pacific slipped 0.5%, and New World Development fell 0.5%.

South Korean Kospi Index lost 0.5% to 1,722. Advances in brokerage sector bucked a general downward trend, as rising concerns over inflation and likely interest rate hikes in global economies sparked profit-taking. Seoul Securities closed 12% higher, while NH Investment & Securities advanced 9.6%. Brokerage firms could not helped the market to end higher, though. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering ended 3% lower. GS Engineering & Construction fell 4.2%, Samsung Electronics slipped 0.9% while Hyundai Motor lost 1%.

Shanghai Composite Index rallied 2.6% to end at 4,176, bucking the overall downtrend on a strong local currency which boosted property developers and financial companies. China Vanke rose 5.5% and China Merchants Property rallied 8%. Among financial firms, China Life gained 2.2% and China Merchants Bank ended 4.7% higher. Australian S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1% to 6,181. BHP Billiton declined 1.7% after copper on LME lost 2.5% and nickel fell 5.8%. Interest rate sensitive stocks also declined - ANZ Bank fell 1.2%.


8:15AM Investor group offered $11.4 billion for Biomet.

Investors led by The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG revealed their bid offer of $46 a share, or $11.4 billion, for medical devices maker Biomet (BMET: chart).

LVB Acquisition LLC and LVB Acquisition Merger Sub announced on Wednesday that they started a tender offer to buyout the outstanding shares of the company, whose shareholders have shown reluctance to support the deal.

Following completion of the tender offer, LVB Acquisition will complete a second-step merger in which any remaining common shares of Biomet will be converted into the right to receive the same per share price paid in the offer. The offer and withdrawal rights will expire at 12:00 a.m., ET on July 11.


7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex loses 128 points Wednesday in lackluster session.

The Sensex on BSE finished Wednesday 127.92 points lower, or 0.91%, at 14,003.03.

The market-breadth was very weak. For 1,083 stocks which advanced, 1,372 declined and 85 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, only nine advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,530 crore, lower than Rs 3,836 crore on Tuesday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 8,096 crore, slightly lower than Rs 8,177 crore on Tuesday.

Economic news

The strike of the employees of state-owned airline Indian brought to a halt operations and wreaked havoc in airports across the country today. The workers paid no heed to the government’s threat of a lock-out, and were unfazed by warnings that the strike was illegal. The airline flies 300 flights a day and carries daily 30,000 passengers on its network of 40 cities. The domestic carrier Indian is expected to merger with flagship of India and international carrier Air India to compete in the rapidly changing marketplace. Indian, in the last two years, has seen its market share decline from 42% to 20%.

The rupee retreated against the U.S. dollar as buying from importers broke its rising streak. In early trade, the rupee stood at 40.855 per dollar, lower than the previous close of 40.747.

Trading highlights