5:00PM NY, 11:00PM Frankfurt, 2:30AM Mumbai – Global Markets

Yields on 10-year U.S. bonds closed at 4.9% and 30-year bond closed at 5.021%.

Crude oil rose 71 cents to close at $64.20 per barrel, natural gas fell 1 cent to close at $7.94 per mBtu, and gasoline futures fell 2.13 cents to close at 225.12 cents per gallon.

Gold rose $7.40 to close at $666.70 per ounce, silver gained 25 cents to close at $13.47 per ounce, and copper futures fell $60 to close at $7,270 per metric ton.

Asian Markets closed higher on the rebound in later afternoon trading yesterday in the U.S. The Philippines and South Korea led the region with a gain of 2.3% followed by 1.7% rise in Hong Kong and Japan, 1.4% advance in Indonesia and Thailand and 0.9% increase in India. Shanghai rebounded with a gain of 1.4% after falling 6.5% a day ago. Singapore fell 0.45%. India reported for the fiscal 2007 economic growth rate of 9.4%, fastest in 18 years. Sony in Japan trading rose 1.5%.

European Markets rose across the region led by gains of 1.7% in Norway, 1.5% in Germany, and 1.3% in Spain, and 1% rise in France and Belgium. Norsk Hydro in Norway rose 3% on 13% higher profit. E.On, largest power company in Europe, said that it will increase its dividend between 10% and 20% till the year 2010 and buyback 10% shares. Vallourec, in Paris trading jumped 6% on the speculation that Russian oil company Gazprom may make a bid for the tube and casing maker.

Latin American Markets closed higher led by 8.6% rebound in Peru. Peruvian markets have come under heavy pressure on the worries that volatility in China may affect Peruvian export of commodities to the region. However, investors shrugged of the recent fall and bought stocks today. Local consumption has driven Peru’s economy in the first quarter 7.2% higher on retail sales increase of 9.7%. Argentina gained 1% and Chile rose 0.6%, but Brazil fell 0.5%. Colombian Peso rose 1.5% against dollar and up 18% for the year. Surging peso has hurt textile, shoe and coffee exports from Colombia and government said that it will help coffee farmers if prices fall further in pesos.


1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks rebounded from Wednesday’s losses.

European stock markets gained ground on Thursday, posting solid gains which managed to offset the steep declines of the previous trading session. The positive market sentiment was generated by optimistic comments on the U.S. economy, as well as strength posted by utility giant E.On and technology firm ASML.

Germany’s E.On rose 4.1%, reaching a ten-year high. The company said that it plans to buy back up to 10% of its shares by the end of 2008 and increase dividends by 10% to 20% a year on average by 2010. Again in the sector, shares of German RWE rose 3%, while Scottish & Southern added 0.9% in London on strong full-year profit growth.

Technology and resources stocks ASML Holding rose 5% after the chip-equipment maker said it will return 960 million euros to shareholders via a capital repayment and reverse stock split. Among miners, BHP Billiton advanced 1.7%, Norsk Hydro increased 3% on Q1 profit rise, and the French steel-tube maker Vallourec climbed 5.6% on bid speculation.

The German DAX 30 increased 1.5% at 7,883.04, the French CAC-40 rose 1% at 6,104.00, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.3% at 6,621.40.


11:30AM Market averages posted gains, buoyed be deal news.

U.S. market averages posted gains Thursday morning, buoyed by another wave of takeover deals which helped offset weaker-than-expected economic growth in Q1. Better-than-expected data on jobless claims and construction spending also generated positive sentiment.

Brokerage stocks stood out among gainers, led by A.G. Edwards (AGE: chart) which advanced 14% after Wachovia (WB: chart) agreed to buy the company for $6.8 billion. In another deal, Ceridian (CEN: chart) said late Wednesday it will be bought out by investment firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and insurance provider Fidelity National Financial for $5.3 B. Morgan Stanley (MS: chart) announced that it bought Australia's Investa Property Group for $3.9 B.

Metals miners and networking stocks also moved to the upside, while oil services, biotechnology and internet shares declined. Yahoo (YHOO: chart) limited the downward trend for internet stocks by posting a gain of 1% on broker upgrade. Retail stocks traded mixed, with Sears Holding (SHLD: chart) falling 2%, while Costco (COST: chart) and Tiffany Co. (TIF: chart) moved slightly up.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 8.13, or 0.06%, to 13,641.21, after reaching a new trading high of 13,673.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 0.64, or 0.04%, to 1,530.87, after soaring to a record close Wednesday for the first time since March 2000. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 7.92, or 0.31%, rising to 2,600.51. Bonds fell on the strong manufacturing data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.91% from 4.87% late Wednesday.

Construction spending in April came in line with estimates.
Thursday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on construction spending in the month of April, showing that spending growth came in line with economist estimates following an upwardly revised reading for the previous month. The report showed that construction spending edged up 0.1 percent in April following an upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in the previous month. Economists had expected spending to increase 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for March.