[R]9:45AM Wall Street opened above the flat line amid bargain hunting and merger deals.[/R]

Wall Street opened above the flat line, reflecting bargain hunting after recent weakness and merger-and-acquisition news ahead of a key report on the housing market.

Chemical company Huntsman (HUN: chart) surged 28% after division of billionaire investor Leonard Blavatnik''s Access Industries agreed to buy it for $5.6 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Basell will acquire Huntsman''s outstanding common stock for $25.25 per share in cash, with the price representing a 34% premium over the company''s Monday closing stock price of $18.90. Again in M&A action, BlackRock (BLK: chart) added 1.6% after it agreed to buy the fund-of-funds business of Quellos Group for up to $1.7 billion.

In earnings news, homebuilder Lennar (LEN: chart) lost 1.2% after posting a quarterly loss and warning of further weakness. Kroger (KR: chart) fell 4.2% after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and a gain in revenue. There were few pre-market quotes for the supermarket operator''s stock, but it should be active after the opening. Oracle (ORCL: chart) and Nike (NKE: chart) are scheduled to report after the closing bell. Target Corp. (TGT: chart) fell 0.5% after the retailer said that same-store sales in June will come at the low end of its forecast 3%-to-5% range.

In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.08, or 0.10%, to 13,365.13. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 2.49, or 0.17%, to 1,500.23, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 6.75, or 0.26%, to 2,583.83. Bonds fell slightly after the new home sales data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 5.09% from 5.08% late Monday.


[R]9:30AM Asian markets mostly decline with China bucking the trend and gaining.[/R]

Asian markets ended mostly lower. The Nikkei 225 Average in Tokyo settled lower on weakness in brokerage house Mitsubishi, lower 2.4%, and on a decline in export-oriented stocks, which were hurt by the subprime mortgage rate concerns in the world biggest import market. Elpida Memory shed 3.3% and Fujitsu declined 1.5%. Sony, the biggest maker of game consoles in the world, lost 0.9%.

HK also ended lower as deals ahead of futures settlement this week weighed on stocks. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.3% and settled at 21,803. PICC tumbled 8% after Citigroup reduced its recommendation on the stock to sell from hold. Lenovo declined 6% after Deutsche Bank cut its rating to sell from buy and HSBC shed 0.1% on subprime mortgage rate concern.

Problems for small-cap stocks drove South Korean market lower. Small-caps suffered as country''s financial watchdog took steps to limit stock trading on credit by retail investors. Construction companies were also hit. Hyundai Engineering & Construction lost 2.3% and Daelim Industrial shed 1.4%. Seoul’s Kospi Index lost 0.5% to 1,749.

Other major markets around the region also declined. Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 6,308 and Taiwan ended 0.5% lower at 8,865. In Australia, the biggest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton edged 0.4% lower, while Woodside Petroleum lost l.1% after Credit Suisse cut its rating to underperform.

China bucked the downtrend. The Shanghai Composite Index gained after declining for two sessions in a row. The index advanced 0.9% to finish at 3,973. Shipping company China Cosco Holdings rallied 93.2% in its Shanghai trading debut as traders were upbeat about its possible expansion. Huangshi Dongbei Electrical Appliance soared by the daily 10% limit.


[R]9:00AM Market to open slightly higher ahead of housing data.[/R]

U.S. stock market looked poised for a higher opening Tuesday, with investors awaiting a report on new home sales, expected to show a decline in May from the previous month. In another report, the Conference Board is due to release its June consumer confidence index.

Among pre-market highlights, homebuilder Lennar (LEN: chart) said it swung to a Q2 loss of 244.2 million, or $1.55 per share, vs. a profit of $324.7 million, or $2 per share a year ago, blaming weaker housing market. Analysts had been expecting Q2 profit of 5 cents a share. Quarterly revenue dropped 37% to $2.88 billion from $4.58 billion in the prior-year period, beating analyst estimate of $2.58 billion. The company warned it would report a Q3 loss as well.

Investment management company BlackRock Inc. (BLK: chart) said it agreed to buy the fund of funds division of Quellos Group LLC for up to $1.7 billion. The deal, which is expected to complete around Oct. 1, will create a fund of funds operation with more than $25.4 billion in managed assets. S&P 500 futures rose 3 points at 1,516.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 4 points at 1,945.00. Dow industrial futures rose 14 points.


[R]8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex ends virtually flat in a subdued trading.[/R]

The Sensex on BSE finished 13.36 points higher, or 0.09%, at 14,501.08.