2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Alanco Technologies (ALAN: chart) shares climbed 38.8% after data storage and tracking company said that it expects sales in its third quarter ended to more than quadruple from the year-ago period on the acquisition of StarTrak Systems LLC. The company said it expects sales of more than $4.4 million, versus revenue of $988,000 in the prior-year quarter.

Arch Coal Inc. (ACI: chart) said its first-quarter profit tumbled 53% because of soft conditions in the U.S. coal markets. Arch Coal earned $28.7 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $60.6 million, or 42 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Coal sales fell 10% to $571.3 million from $634.6 million in the year-ago period. Shares climbed 6.8%.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. (BOL: chart) shares surged 9.8% amid market chatter that the eye-care products maker could be taken private in a leveraged buyout. Bausch & Lomb, which last year made a worldwide recall of a popular contact lens solution, could not be immediately reached for comment. Bausch & Lomb has a market capitalization of about $3 billion.

Hasbro (HAS: chart) swung to a first-quarter profit on growth in its Marvel product line and core brands and said it was anticipating strong sales this spring and summer in movie-related products. Its shares rose 8.7%. The company reported a profit of $32.9 million, or 19 cents per share, for the last quarter versus a loss of $4.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 34% to $625.3 million from $468.2 million, beating Wall Street's estimate of $507.9 million.

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU: chart) was upgraded to buy from hold at A.G. Edwards. Shares climbed 6%.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD: chart) said it increased its existing share buyback program by $450 million and will now repurchase up to $750 million worth of its stock. Since acquiring Evergreen Resources in 2004, Pioneer has repurchased about 31 million shares. Shares climbed 6.8%.

Administaff Inc. (ASF: chart) shares fell 14.1% after the company said that its forecast for first-quarter earnings was below Street expectations, citing higher-than-expected healthcare costs. The company said it expects to post earnings of 30 cents a share for the quarter.

Whole Foods Market (WFMI: chart) shares climbed 2.7% and reached its highest level since the first half of March. The company started off as a small giant in Austin, Texas, decided to become a public company and now it's a national presence.

Independent Bank Corp. (IBCP: chart) reported its first quarter earnings fell more than 60% from the previous year due to lower interest income. Net profit for the period 2007 was $4.67 million, or 20 cents per share, down from $12.34 million, or 53 cents per share, in the same period last year. Shares fell 13.9%.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE: chart) said its second-quarter profit fell 18% as a surge in online ad sales failed to offset softness in print advertising. The company said net income dropped to $11.9 million, or 26 cents per share, from $14.4 million, or 32 cents per share, in the prior year. Revenue for the quarter slipped 2% to $261.7 million from $266.2 million in the previous year.


1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt - European stocks closed down as the banking sector weighed.

European stock markets closed in the negative on Monday, despite positive news from Swiss giants Novartis and Nestle. The banking sector weighed as investors digested a 67-billion-euro bid launched by Barclays to buy ABN Amro. Shares of ABN Amro turned lower to close down 1.4% after a potential bidding consortium cancelled talks they were due to have with the Dutch bank on Monday.

Barclays shares lost 2.3%. As part of the Barclays deal, ABN Amro agreed to sell its Chicago-based bank, LaSalle, to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion. In other deal news, Scottish & Newcastle shares climbed 2.8% amid a report that SABMiller and Diageo held talks about a joint bid for the U.K. brewer. The German DAX Xetra 30 closed down 0.1% at 7,335.62, while the U.K. FTSE 100 lost 0.1% at 6,479.70. The French CAC-40 fell 0.4% at 5,917.32 a morning after the first round of the French presidential election. Banking group Societe Generale also weighed, falling 2.5%.


11:30AM U.S. market averages traded in a lackluster fashion.
U.S. stocks traded in a lackluster fashion, with the Dow a little off the 13,000 mark weighed down by Pfizer (PFE: chart). The company lost 1.4% following a brokerage downgrade on its stock. Hasbro (HAS: chart), the No. 2 U.S. toymaker, climbed 7% after it reported quarterly profit well above analyst estimates. Biotech stocks were the most notable gainers, driven higher by surging MediImmune on the back of a $15.6 billion buyout offer from AstraZeneca. MedImmune (MEDI: chart) soared 17.9%, while AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) dropped 5%.

Oil service stocks also posted some strength in morning trading. National Oilwell Varco (NOV: chart) rose 2.5% and Noble (NE: chart) gained 1.8%, turning in two of the sector's best performances. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.06, or 0.03%, at 12.957.92, after rising to 12,983.92, a new trading high. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.13, or 0.01%, at 1,484.48, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.40, or 0.02, 2,526.79. With little economic data on the schedule Monday, bonds fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.69% from 4.67% late Friday.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened modestly higher.
Wall Street posted modest gains at opening on Monday, reflecting some profit taking after last-week strong gains, as well as news of two mega mergers, including the UK's Barclays which agreed to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro for $91 billion in the biggest bank deal in history. Shares in ABN Amro slipped 1.4%, while Barclays dropped 2.1%. Bank of America (BAC: chart) agreed to buy ABN Amro's U.S. bank, LaSalle. In another deal, drug maker AstraZeneca agreed to pay $15.6 billion for U.S. biotech company MedImmune, sending biotechnology stocks notably higher. AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) shares lost 4.3%, while MedImmune (MEDI: chart) surged 17.5%.