[R]2:30PM Google and Apple move in the opposite direction.[/R]

Google (GOOG: chart) is up $13 or 3.4% on no news. The stock hit low of $337 after missing the earnings on January 31st and has recovered 16% since then. Apple Computer (AAPL: chart) lost 2% on two broker downgrades. Lehman Brothers lowered its price target to $73 from $80 on account of weakness in PC and iPod sales in the fiscal second quarter. The analyst at the firm also lowered its earnings forecast for the quarter to 42 cents from 44 cents and revenue to $4.4 billion from $4.6 billion. Analyst at UBS also lowered its price target to $95 from $100 but kept its ''buy'' rating. Apple Computer has remained in a trading range between $86 and $58 in the last three months. Delta & Pine Land (DLP: chart) reported Q2 earnings of 40 cents vs. 48 cents a year ago on a revenue decline of 4% and the stock is down 4%.


[R]12:30PM European markets finished in the negative.[/R]

European markets closed in the red, reflecting losses in the energy sector as well as weakness in mining stocks. Oil prices retreated to send energy stocks lower. BP dropped 1.5%, Royal Dutch Shell fell 0.7%, and Total declined 1.8%. Miners such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton failed to sustain recent gains. Arcelor eased 0.9% after it unveiled a series of takeover defenses, including a special payment of more than $6 billion to shareholders. Automakers posted gains, following the release of
U.S. sales data yesterday. The German DAX 30 fell 0.2%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.9%, and London FTSE 100 dropped 0.3%.



Crude oil prices declined on profit taking. Light sweet crude May delivery dropped 74 cents to $66 a barrel. Gasoline fell 1 cent $1.1850 per gallon, while heating oil lost over a cent to $1.8458. Natural gas futures dropped 18 cents to $7.065 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent dropped 74 cents to $66.10. European gold traded mixed Tuesday. In London gold traded at $586.30 per troy ounce, down from $589.90. In Zurich the precious metal rose to $586.40 from $582.90. In Hong Kong gold surged $1.30 to $585.80. Silver closed unchanged at $11.70. The U.S. dollar traded lower versus major currencies. The euro traded at $1.2257, up from
$1.2141. The dollar bought 117.46, down from 117.65. The British pound was quoted at $1.7557, up from $1.7384.


[R]11:30AM Stocks moved to the upside.[/R]

Having traded near the flat line throughout morning session, stocks gained momentum going into afternoon trading, although buying interest remained somewhat subdued.Airline stocks continued their strong performance, benefiting from a notable decrease in the price of oil with Continental Airlines (CAL: chart) leading gainers in the sector after reporting a higher March load factor. The transportation sector also benefited from declining oil prices to send the Dow Jones Transportation Average up 1.1%, to a new record intraday high. Bank stocks moved notably to the upside, leading the sector 0.9% higher. Among bank stocks, Citigroup (C: chart) rose 1.3% after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York lifted a year-long ban on big acquisitions by the company. The utilities sector contributed to the market
strength, with the Dow Jones Utilities Average currently up 0.9%. Some disk drive,semiconductor, and telecommunication stocks also posted considerable gains. Among individual stocks, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC: chart), IT services provider, climbed notably by 4.3% after CSC said it is considering a possible sale of the company. 3M (MMM: chart) was the bet Dow performer, rising 2.5% on considering alternatives for its
branded drugs business, including a possible sale. Meanwhile, the decrease in the price of oil contributed to some weakness in the oil service sector.



[R]10:30AM Stocks traded in a lackluster fashion.[/R]

Cautiousness ahead of the start of the first-quarter earnings report kept stocks trading in a tight range. There were no new economic report and investors stayed away from making significant moves ahead of the Labor Department report on job creation, due out Friday. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.92, or 0.13%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.25, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 4.98, or 0.21%. Bonds edged higher, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.85% from 4.87% late Monday. Among companies
in the spotlight today, shares of Computer Sciences (CBC: chart) rose 4.2% after the company announced that it will put itself for a sale which could lead to a deal worth more than $10.6 billion. Dow industrial Citigroup (C: chart) gained after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York lifted a year-long ban on new acquisitions. While the bigger part of the broad market showed a lack of direction, the airline sector notably advanced on lower oil prices. Continental Airlines (CAL: chart) climbed 2.3% after the company said its March load factor rose to 81.2% from 80.5% a year ago. Disk drive stocks also moved to the positive territory, contributing to a 1.2% advance by the sector. Maxtor (MXO: chart) and Seagate Technology (STX: chart) were among the sector's best performers. Notable gains were visible among telecommunications,banking, and utilities stocks. Meanwhile, the networking sector was sent lower, helped by Ciena (CIEN: chart) which announced a plan to sell up to $250 million in convertible senior notes due 2013 and dropped 3.5%. Lower oil prices due to profit taking sent energy stocks to the downside.



[R] 9:45AM Stocks were steady at opening.[/R]

Stocks lacked direction in early Tuesday trading with investors reluctant to make significant moves before the release of key economic data. In the opening minutes, the Dow Jones industrial average was up .08 at 11,145.02, the Nasdaq Composite was unchanged and the S&P's 500 index climbed .03 to 1,297.84. Among stocks in focus, Computer Sciences (CSC: chart) is expected to be active on deal talk and a report it will cut jobs. The company is in talks to sell itself for more than $10.6 billion, and also is expected to announce 5,000 job cuts. Merrill Lynch (MER: chart) lowered its Q1 net earnings forecast by $1.2 billion after taxes as a result of a new accounting
standard for stock-based employee compensation. In other corporate news, Arcelor announced a series of measures to spurn Mittal Steel's hostile offer. The measures included putting Dofasco into a Dutch foundation and announcing a special cash return of $6 billion. Although, the broad market was lackluster, energy stocks showed visible weakness on profit taking after yesterday's gains. HMO, defense, and networking stocks also moved to the downside. Among networking stocks, shares of Ciena (CIEN: chart) fell 3.8% after the company announced that it plans to sell up to $250 million in convertible senior notes due 2013. Airline stocks posted significant
strength in early trading, benefiting from the decline in oil prices. As the price of gold advanced, gold stocks also moved to the positive territory, rebounding from weakness in the previous session.





[R]9:15AM Stock futures pointed to a modestly higher opening.[/R]

U.S. stock futures were sitting near the flat line, pointing to a slightly higher start on optimism about corporate earnings at the start of the new earnings season, which will be kicked off by aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA: chart) next week. Stocks seemed likely to continue the mixed performance shown at close yesterday, when averages reversed from earlier gains and the Nasdaq fell into negative territory after setting a five-year intraday high. On Tuesday, buying interest is expected to remain subdued with investors awaiting the March employment report. In company news,
Computer Sciences (CSC: chart), computer services company, advanced 4.7% in pre-market trading after it said it is considering a possible sale of the company. The company said it plans to cut 5,000 employees in the next two years, mostly in Europe. Shares of Merrill Lynch (MER: chart) dropped 2.8% in pre-market trading after the company said it will take a $1.2 billion charge in the Q1 after it adopts new accounting standards for stock options. S&P 500 futures were up 0.80 point, just barely above
fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 6 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.25 point.