Confirmation that ABN Amro had agreed to consider the offer by the consortium which is behind a 72 billion euros break-up bid led by Royal Bank of Scotland made the UK company shares fall 0.5%. Royal Bank of Scotland also dropped as HSBC kept the shares at neutral and cut its price target.

There was bad news from Sports Direct International, down 8.3%, as the sports retailer warned on slower sales.

With oil prices up above $65 a barrel in New York, cruises company Carnival Corporation was among the decliners, down 0.9%.


[R]9:15AM Asian markets finish higher Thursday with Japan leading gainers.[/R]
Asian markets ended higher on Thursday. The 225-issue Nikkei Average closed 1.1% higher at 17,429.17. Sony rose 0.9% after reports that the electronics company will raise up to 300 billion yen by taking Sony Financial Holdings public. Electronics maker Kyocera advanced 2.1% ahead of its earnings release, while silicon-wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical surged 4.3%, ahead of its earnings Friday. Honda Motor gained 1.8% after the auto maker reported upbeat quarterly earnings growth.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark index Hang Seng Index ended up 0.6% at 20,667.29. Shares of China Molybdenum leaped 68% above their initial offer price in debut Hong Kong trading, as investors bought stakes in the specialty metal miner. Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 2% after posting quarterly results that topped expectations.

Taiwan Weighted Price Index gained 0.2% to finish at 8,000.04. Leading gains in Taiwan was Hon Hai Precision Industry which rose 1.6% on hopes of improved earnings at the contract-electronics manufacturer after Apple Computer reported second-quarter earnings rose 88% on year. Hon Hai makes iPods for Apple.

China Shanghai Composite Index added 1% to close at 3,783.06 and Australian S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.4% at 6,212.20. South Korean Kospi index added 0.5% to close at 1,553.13.


[R]9:00AM U.S. stock futures pointed higher on strong earnings from Apple, 3M, Exxon Mobil.[/R]
U.S. stock futures rallied on Thursday, leading the market to another session of solid gains on the back of strong quarterly profit at Apple and narrower-than-expected loss at Ford. Upbeat quarterly results released by 3M and Exxon Mobil also contributed to the positive mood. On the economic news front, U.S. weekly jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 321,000 during the week ending April 21

Among pre-market highlights, Apple (APPL: chart) surged 8% after it reported an 88% profit rise in Q1, helped by record iPod sales as well as the company''s line of Mac computers. Blue-chip stocks were supported by 7% increase in the shares of Ford (F: chart) as the automaker posted a narrower-than-anticipated Q1 loss, helped by stronger performance at its international units and higher revenue. Ford reported a net loss of $282 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.4 billion, or 76 cents a share a year earlier, above estimates of 60 cents loss.

Dow member Exxon Mobil (XOM: chart) reported higher-than-expected Q1 earnings, but revenue came in below year-ago levels. The stock edged up 0.8% ahead of the open. Xilinx (XLNX: chart) rallied 5.3% in pre-open trading after the chip maker reported better-than-forecast Q4 results. Microsoft (MSFT: chart) added 0.7% ahead of earnings release after the closing bell. S&P 500 futures rose 3.20 points to 1,504.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures improved by 9.00 points to 1,903.00. Dow industrial futures hiked up 34 points to 13,154.


[R]8:15AM 3M reported 58% earnings increase in Q1.[/R]
3M (MMM: chart) reported 58% Q1 earnings increase. The company earned record $1.4 billion or $1.85 per share, up from 899 million, or $1.17 per share in the first quarter of 2006. First quarter 2007 net income included a net profit of $422 million, or 57 cents per share, due to a gain on the sale of the branded pharmaceuticals business in Europe. Sales increased 6.7% to $1.8 billion. Revenue climbed 6.1% to $5.9 billion.

Halliburton (HAL: chart), oilfield services conglomerate, announced 13% profit rise in Q1, boosted largely by increased business in the Middle East which helped offset lower U.S. prices. The company reported net income of $552 million, or 54 cents a share, compared to $488 million, or 46 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose 17% to $3.4 billion from $2.9 billion a year ago. The stock rose 2.3% in pre-market trading.


[R]8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex finishes marginally higher on April derivatives expiry.[/R]

The Sensex on BSE finished 11.11 points, or 0.08%, higher at 14,228.88.

The Sensex traded within a range of 256 points today. The market-breadth was weak as there were almost three decliners for every two gainers. As 1,049 stocks advanced, 1,482 declined and only 79 stocks remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 15 advanced, while the other 15 declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,465 crore, lower than Rs 5,200.34 crore on Wednesday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 11,830.93 crore, higher than Rs 11,078.22 crore on Wednesday.

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