[R]4:15PM NY – 10:15PM Germany[/R]

U.S. bond market and metals and energy markets were closed on the account of public holiday. Prices for these markets are from yesterday’s close. However, Asian and Latin American markets closed higher and European markets closed lower.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.568% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.647%.

Gold increased $2 to close at $637.40 a troy ounce, silver advanced 7.2 cents to end at $13.30 a troy ounce and copper gained 3.1 cents to close at 316.70 cents a lb.

Oil decreased 6 cents to close at $59.18 a barrel and heating oil increased 1.17 cents to finish at 167.82 cents a gallon. Gasoline was down 0.86 cents to end at 158.02 cents a gallon. Natural gas advanced 2.2 cents to close at $7.74 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed mostly higher led by Japan with a gain of 1.14%, Australia with an advance of 0.35% and Hong Kong with an increase of 0.08%. The decliners were led by Philippines with a decrease of 1.42%, South Korea with a decline of 0.23% and India with a loss of 0.19%. Australian markets ended higher helped by banks and potential takeover target Foster's Group Ltd. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

European markets closed lower as oil and gas companies weighed down indexes already under pressure from transport stocks. The decliners were led by Belgium with a decrease of 0.64%, France with a loss of 0.51% and Netherlands with a decline of 0.42%. There were no advancers.

Latin America markets closed mostly higher led by Canada with an advance of 0.58% and Brazil with a gain of 0.37%. The decliners were led by Argentina with a loss of 0.28% and Mexico with a decrease of 0.07%.

[R]1:00PM European markets closed mostly lower on weak oil stocks.[/R]
European stock markets finished mostly in the red on Thursday as weakness in oil and gas companies along with sharp losses for transport stocks dragged down indexes. The French CAC 40 dropped 0.5%, with Air France-KLM posting a loss of 6.5% after the airline reported a below-forecast Q2 operating profit and added to M&A speculation in the sector by saying that it is in acquisition talks with struggling Alitalia. Shares in the Italian carrier climbed 2.9%. Lower oil prices limited the downside for transportation stocks, but weighed on oil and gas companies. Consequently the oil-heavy London FTSE 100 closed down 0.3%. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.7%. Mobile-phone operator Vodafone Group was among gainers, rising advanced by 1.1%. Scottish oil explorer Cairn Energy's stock advanced 2.7% after it said a placing of shares in its Indian unit had raised around $822 million. Other gainers included newspaper group Daily Mail & General Trust, up 5.5% after its fiscal-year profit topped forecasts. The German DAX 30 finished flat at 6,476.12, reversing from an earlier rise on the back of upbeat economic data.

Crude oil prices were steady due to sufficient crude oil supplies. Crude oil December contract slipped 6 cents to $59.18 a barrel. London Brent dropped 14 to $59.41. The U.S. dollar extended decline against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2951, up from $1.2942, the highest jump since June. European gold prices advanced as the stronger euro boosted the metal’s appeal. In London, gold for immediate delivery traded at $631.25 per troy ounce, up $1.50.


[R]10:30AM The Sensex took a breather in a volatile trading on Thursday.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 25.70 points, or 0.19% lower, at 13,680.83. The market-breadth, positive in the first half weakened in late trading session. As 1,324 shares declined on BSE, 1,219 rose and 68 shares were unchanged. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,531.48 crore, higher than Rs 5,184 crore on Wednesday, supported by a large block deal of 92.7 lakh in the in ICICI Bank, at Rs 880.50. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,884.68 crore, lower than Rs 10, 463.59 crore on Wednesday.

Economic news
India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, may revise its growth target upwards to 30% growth in loans for the year to March 2007, Managing Director Yogesh Agarwal told reporters on Thursday.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today announced that Indian companies going for overseas acquisitions is the new facet of the globalisation process.

Advancers
Hero Honda spurted nearly 3% to Rs 749.90. The company said margins will remain under pressure in the second half of the year. Bajaj Auto also gained 1.6% to Rs 2,640. Private sector bank HDFC Bank surged nearly 4% to Rs 1,120. State Bank of India rose 0.5% to Rs 1,256.
Zee Telefilms gained 3.5% to Rs 361, after its spin-off plans became effective on 22 November 2006. Zee Telefilms demerger scheme was approved by the Mumbai High Court on 17 Nov 2006.

L&T advanced 2% to Rs 1,402. L&T said its sales will grow at a higher rate of 20% in October 2006-March 2007 period, compared to a growth of 12% in the first half of the financial year.

Hindustan Organic Chemicals jumped 7% to Rs 31.90. The stock rose on huge volume of 56.1 lakh shares on BSE. In a clarification regarding media reports, Hindustan Organic Chemicals today said the government has sanctioned a financial restructuring package of Rs 250 crore.

Decliners
Satyam led the decliners today down 2.97% to Rs 463.50, Bharti Airtel shed 1.93% to Rs 625.90 on profit taking, after a recent solid surge. Tata Steel lost 0.3% to Rs 471.05. EU regulators on Thursday set a Jan. 3 deadline to rule on Tata Steel 4.3 billion pound or $7.7 billion bid for Corus Group PLC of Britain, just days after CSN made another higher offer.

Oil exploration large-cap ONGC shed 1.3% to Rs 845, following a decline in crude oil price to below $60 a barrel, on Thursday. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shed 0.4% to Rs 1,140.90. Microsoft has bought 10% stake in TCS China, where TCS holds a majority 65% stake.

Software large-cap Infosys ended flat at Rs 2,225. The stock had weakened since Tuesday pricing of a $1.6 billion swap of local stocks into ADR. Other decliners included Hindustan Lever down 1.57% to Rs 240.95, Reliance Energy falling 1.57% to Rs 544 and Tata Motors dropping 1.38% to Rs 821.

Reliance Industries lost 0.6% to Rs 1,270. Reliance Industries may get seven blocks in the sixth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy. The bids for the sixth round had closed on 15 September 2006.