4:45PM NY, 10:45 PM Frankfurt, 2:00AM Mumbai – Global Markets

Yields rose on 10-year U.S. bonds and closed at 5.1% and 30-year bond rose to close at 5.2%.

Crude oil gained 97 cents to close at $66.93 per barrel, natural gas down 26 cent to close at $7.82 per mBtu, and gasoline futures fell 0.64 cents to close at 218.40 cents per gallon.

Gold dropped $9.40 cents to close at $665.20 per ounce, silver lost 24 cents to close at $13.48 per ounce, and copper futures lost $128 to close at $7,495 per metric ton.

Asian Markets closed on the worries that rising rated in Europe and Asia will lower fund flows. A drop of 1.2% in Philippines led the decliners in the region followed by 0.5% loss in Singapore, India and Australia. South Korea and Taiwan led the region with gains of 0.6% and 0.5%. Shanghai rose 3% on the government effort to support the market with positive comments. Australia reported unemployment rate of 4.2% triggering worries that rates will rise in the coming months. Metals and fuel trading companies in Japan climbed for a second day in a row. Marubeni added 2.1% and Sumitomo rose 2.3%. Property stocks traded lower in Hong Kong but oil explorers in China, Japan and Australia closed higher.

European Markets closed lower across the region led by a 1.5% decline in France and Germany, 1.4% loss in Spain and Switzerland, and 1% decrease in Italy. Dutch retailer Ahold gained 7.3% on a earnings decline of 2% but above the estimates. France Telecom traded, ex-dividend rights, 6.7% lower. Vodafone rose 2.1% on investors call to spin-off its investment in Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Specialty chemical maker Rhodia in France dropped 15% and recover to close 6.5% lower with no news. Sanofi-Aventis also traded ex-dividend today. France Telecom has agreed to sell its Orange Netherlands for

Nordic markets sold-off on account of sharp correction in Sweden. The OMX Stockholm 30 fell 3.2%, Denmark dropped 2%, Norway lost 0.8% and Finland declined 0.6%. SAS Group plunged 7% on the news that flight attendant union at its Spanair unit may declare a strike. Swedbank fell 3.6% on the news that bank has been cited by Russia for certain violations.

Europe defense company BAE fell 2% on the report in London newspaper Guardian that the company paid nearly $2 billion to Saudi Prince Bandar over the last ten years.

Latin American Markets closed sharply lower across the region with a loss of 2%. Argentina led the region with a loss of 2.2%, Brazil declined 2.1%, Chile decreased 1.95% and Mexico edged 1.6% lower. Yields on emerging markets bonds rose across the region. In Brazilian trading Vale do Doce Rio and Petrobras fell 2.2% and utility company Copel fell 3.3%.

Third largest cement company in the World, Mexico based Cemex has received 50.34% of shares of Rinker International, Australia based company with substantial operations in the U.S. Colombian government reported that first quarter trade deficit of $812 million compared to a surplus of $164 million a year ago.

1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European markets ended lower, dragged down by rate worries.

European stock markets finished in the negative territory on Thursday, reflecting continuous worries over global interest rates. Solid gains posted by Vodafone Group failed to lift market sentiment.

The mobile phone giant Vodafone Group rose 2.1% in London. Still in the telecom sector, France Telecom lost 1.2% after the company''s shares started to trade without rights to the company''s latest dividend payout. It also agreed late Wednesday to sell its Orange Netherlands unit to Germany''s Deutsche Telekom. Among other gainers, Dutch food retailer Ahold climbed 7.3% after it reported higher-than-expected net profit.

On the side of the losers, property group Land Securities dropped 3.6%, while Hypo Real Estate shares lost 2.2% in Germany. Shares in budget airline easyJet fell 2%, although passengers in May rose 13.8% and Goldman Sachs upgraded its stock. Air France-KLM fell 1.1% after it said passengers in May advanced 1% from a year ago.

The German DAX Xetra 30 slipped 1.4% at 7,618.61, the French CAC-40 dropped 1.5% at 5,890.49, while, the U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.3% at 6,505.10.


11:30AM U.S. market averages steeply dropped, with the Dow losing 80 points.

U.S. market averages moved steeply lower in late morning trading, pressured by mixed retail sales in May and interest rate concerns, sparked by the 10-year Treasury note which jumped over 5%. Economic data failed to lift market sentiment. The Commerce Department said inventories among U.S. wholesalers rose 0.03% in April to after increasing a revised 0.4% in March.

The Dow dropped 80 points, dragged by 3M Co .(MMM: chart) down 1.5%, Disney (DIS: chart), falling 1.9%, Home Depot (HD: chart), down 1.2% and Pfizer (PFE: chart), losing 1.1%. Among retailers, J.C. Penney (JCP: chart) fell 3.6% and Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) lost 1.5% on lower-than-expected same-store sales.

Rate-sensitive housing stocks stood out among losers, helping to lead the market lower. A notable increase by the price of oil also weighed, contributing to significant weakness in the oil-sensitive airline sector. Some utilities, gold, and biotechnology stocks also moved sharply lower. In the tech sector, Apple (APPL: chart) shares rose 2.2% to $127, helping to limit losses. The advance came after Piper Jaffray raised its price target on the stock to $160 a share from $140.