Advancers

AB Foods rose 5.1% as it reported a strong performance from its sugar businesses and a 4% rise in sales at the Primark fashion chain. Strong full-year results boosted housebuilder Persimmon, 3.6% higher, and Old Mutual, the life assurer, up 2.8%.

As the crude price rose a further 28 cents to $61.42, oil stocks were again stronger. BP rose 2.1% and Cairn Energy gained 1.8%. Miners also traded higher after a strong session in Asia overnight. Kazakhmys, the copper miner, gained 2.4%.

Decliners

William Ransom has warned profit growth for the full year to March 31 would come in below its own previous expectations due to a slower than expected recovery in a key export market. William Ransom declined 20.6%. Alfred McAlpine crashed as it warned it had discovered signs of a systematic fraud at its Slate subsidiary. The stock fell 19.6%.

BSkyB declined 0.6% on continued worries about its dispute with Virgin Media. BSkyB announced discussions with Virgin Media about the carriage of Sky basic channels were ongoing and there was a real possibility that agreement would not be reached before expiry of the current contract at midnight on February 28. The higher crude price dragged Carnival, the cruise operator, 0.3% lower.


9:00 AM Market futures pointed to a higher opening, helped by merger activity.
U.S. stock market futures moved higher on Monday, boosted by a multi-billion takeover of utility giant TXU which raised consolidation hopes. Shares of TXU (UTX: chart) jumped 13% in the pre-open after agreeing to be bought by a private-equity group for $45 billion, including $13 billion in debt. In another deal, Company management and Colony Capital agreed to buy Station Casinos (STN: chart) for $8.8 billion, including $3.4 billion in debt. Dow Chemical (DOW: chart) rose 8% on bid speculation that a private-equity group will make a takeover bid valued nearly $54 billion. Another pre-market highlight was Ericsson (ERIC: chart)with a $1.4 billion offer for Norway''s Tandberg Television. S&P 500 futures rose 4.4 points at 1,458.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.5 points at 1,852.50. Dow industrial futures improved 39 points.


8:45AM Asian markets finished mixed Monday with Japan higher and HK lower.
Asian markets closed mixed on Monday. The Nikkei ended 0.15% higher at 18,215.35. Sony edged 0.8%, after Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating to buy"""" from sell and raised its target price. Softbank gained 3.1%. Resona Holdings fell 2% but shares of Nikko Cordial gained 13% on reports U.S.-based Citigroup Inc. is seeking to substantially boost its 4.9% stake in the company. Sanyo Electric gained 3.9%, following a 21% plunge Friday after the Osaka-based electronics maker announced it was being investigated.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.98% to 20,507.95 and Australian leading share index rose 0.13% to 6,044. In Australia, Rio Tinto led gains among the resources sector after prices for industrial commodities and precious metals rose. Rio Tinto rose 2.1%, while BHP Billiton added 0.5%.

Other benchmarks around the region also gained. South Korea Kospi index closed up 0.15% at 1,470.03 and Taiwan Weighted Price Index closed 1.16% higher at 7,900.20, lifted by gains in construction companies on reports that regional investors are starting to take an active interest in Taiwan real-estate market. China Shanghai Composite Index swung from early losses to jump 1.67%. However, Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.08% to 3,307.92.


8:30 AM Microsoft must pay $1.52 billion to Alcatel-Lucent.
TXU Corp. (TXU: chart), the biggest electricity producer in Texas, announced an agreement to be acquired by a group of private-equity firms in a deal worth about $32 billion, including the assumption of $13 billion in debt. If the deal completes, it would be the largest private buyout in U.S. corporate history. It would top the previous biggest buyout of $25.1 billion set in 1988 when RJR Nabisco was bought by Kohlberg Kravis. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group led a consortium that included Goldman Sachs & Co. and three other Wall Street firms that will pay $69.25 per share for TXU.

The firms said they will support limits on power-plant pollution that causes global warming. They won support for the buyout from environmental groups which have consistently criticized TXU. Environmentalists agreed to sharply scale back TXU''s controversial $10 billion plan to build 11 new coal-fired power plants that would produce tons of new greenhouse gas emissions. The group also agreed to reduce electricity prices by 10% and limit prices until September 2008.Shares of TXU Corp. climbed 13% in pre-market trading. TXU shares have almost doubled in value over the last two years, rising from $37.35 to Friday''s closing price of $57.64.


8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai The Sensex gains Monday on cement and metal stocks.
The Sensex on BSE finished 16.99 points, or 0.12%, higher at 13,649.52. The market experienced extreme volatility today as it traded within a range of 339.52 points. The market-breadth improved in late trading but remained negative at close with 1,315 stocks declining 1,229 advancing and 50 stocks were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex 18 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,956.87 crore, lower than Rs 4,563.10 crore on Friday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 9,046.18 crore, lower than Rs 10,337.47 crore on Friday.

Economic news

Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav presented Railway Budget 2007 in the Parliament today. The general tone of the budget reflected the rising revenue from freight traffic benefiting from the growing economy. The railways continue to increase freight handling capacity, add more passenger trains and provide better reservation facilities. The Minister also said that the rail network will expand by 500 kilometers during the next fiscal year and a small percentage of tracks will be converted to broad tracks from medium tracks.

The railways saw an increase of 14% in revenue and operating ratio of 78.7%. The railways are expected to have cash surplus before dividend of Rs 20,000 crores. The Minister also cut the freight rates for diesel, petrol and ammonia by five percent and lowered second class passenger fares on long distance trains by one rupee.