[R]5:00PM NY – 11:00PM Frankfurt – 3:30AM Mumbai[/R]
Markets in New York traded weak despite better than expected rise in consumer confidence, firm oil price and back-to-back rise in existing home sales in November and October. Asian and Latin American markets closed higher but markets in Europe closed lower.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.712% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.832%.

Gold gained $5.90 to close at $636.20 a troy ounce, silver increased 1 cent to end at $12.935 a troy ounce and copper lost 2.10 cents to close at 289.30 cents per pound.

Oil advanced 16 cents to close at $60.50 a barrel and heating oil gained 1.430 cents to finish at 162.310 cents a gallon. Gasoline was down 5.40 cents to end at 158.21 cents a gallon. Natural gas advanced 12.6 cents to close at $6.268 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed higher led by Philippines with a gain of 2.08%, Hong Kong with an increase of 1.40% and South Korea with an advance of 0.66%. The decliners were Thailand with a loss of 1.09% and India with a decrease of 0.10%. Asian stocks finished higher following gains on American markets.

European markets closed almost flat as a rise in the price of oil took the edge off positive data on U.S. economic growth. The advancers were Norway with a gain of 0.96%, Belgium with an increase of 0.10% and Germany with an advance of 0.04%. The decliners were led by Spain with a loss of 0.27%, Switzerland with a decrease of 0.21% and France with a decline of 0.12%.

Latin America markets closed mostly higher led by Mexico with a gain of 0.82%, Canada with an increase of 0.43% and Argentina with an advance of 0.05%. The only decliner was Brazil with a loss of 0.12%.

[R]1:00PM European markets closed unchanged.[/R]
European stocks ended flat on Thursday, reflecting an increase in the price of oil which countered positive data on U.S. economic growth. The German DAX 30 closed unchanged at 6,611.81, reversing from a five-year high reached earlier in the session. Notable gainers driving the index included Siemens and Volkswagen. Siemens rose 1% after the conglomerate and IBM won a 10-year IT contract from the German military worth 7.1 billion euros. Depfa Bank was another gainer, rising 1.6% after a statement disclosed that UBS lifted its stake to 10% from 7.1%. Among other regional markets, France and the U.K. lost 0.1% each. Imperial Chemical Industries rose 1.5% in London, while shares of Vodafone Group slipped 0.7% n reports that the company lodged a bid for India''s Hutchison Essar, which values the carrier from $17 billion to $18 billion.

Crude oil prices advanced after U.S. government data showed shrinking crude oil inventories. Crude oil January contract added 16 cents to $60.50 a barrel. Heating oil rose to $1.62 a gallon. Gasoline added to $1.61. Natural gas futures jumped 14 cents to $6.27 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar traded lower against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3185, up from $1.3123. The dollar bought 118.54 yen, down from 118.74. The British pound was quoted at $1.9653, up from $1.9564. European gold prices further advanced. In London, gold traded at $633.50 per troy ounce, up from $627. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $632.05 per ounce, up from $625.25. Silver closed at $12.83, up from $12.72.


[R]11:30AM Market averages traded lower on worries of faster economic growth.[/R]
U.S. stocks failed to continue the recent rally and kept trading in the negative, despite stronger-than-anticipated economic reports. On the one hand, the upbeat data provided support to the equities, but on the other, stoked concerns about faster-than-expected economic growth that could lead the Fed to stay on hold on rates in 2007. The Conference Board''s index of consumer confidence climbed to 109 in December, reaching an 8-month high and countering expectations of a decline to 102. The National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales rose 0.6% in November, beating economist projections for a decline.

Financial companies were notable decliners, with Citigroup Inc. (C: chart) dragging banks lower on expectations that lower rates aren’t imminent. Lower interest rates are favorable as they boost the value of bonds owned by banks and insurers, and thus increase demand for mortgages and loans. Citigroup shares lost 1.5%. Apple Computer (AAPL: chart) weighed on technology shares with a 2% decline on reports that its CEO was given 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without board authorization. Elsewhere, shares of Siemens (SI: chart) added 1.1% after the electronics maker together with IBM (IBM: chart) won a $9 billion contract from the German military. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 16.98, or 0.14%, to 12,493.59, retreating from its record close of 12,510.57. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 3.37, or 0.24%, to 1,423.47, and the Nasdaq composite index gave up 7.99, or 0.33%, to 2,423.23.


[R]10:30 AM India slips on Thursday, as IT and capital goods decline.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 13.35 points, or 0.10%, lower at 13,846.34. The market breadth was negative as 1,234 shares advanced on BSE, 1375 shares declined and 73 shares were unchanged. Of the thirty stocks in the Sensex index, 16 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,966 crore, higher than Rs 3,664 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 9,966.62 crore, as compared to Rs 7,083.45 crore on Wednesday.

Economic news
The Indian rupee hit a nine-month high on Thursday but gave up the gains. Robust exports, foreign investment in local companies through the stock exchanges and strong remittances from NRI community.

The Reserve Bank of India announced its study of budgets fiscal 2007 and has outlined a solid improvement in the fiscal policies helping to improve national deficit. In fiscal 2006 ratio of gross fiscal deficit to gross domestic product fell to 3.2% and ratio of revenue deficit to gross domestic product to 0.5%. The Reserve Bank accounts for this improvement on revenue collection improvement.

Chinese computer company, Lenovo, today announced its plans to expand into India. The company will launch its first innovation centre in the country to promote products in multi-branded and exclusive retail outlets.

In trade today
Tech Mahindra was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 319.20 crore followed by the stocks of Indiabulls and Reliance Industries. The mobile telephone company, Hutchinson Essar is looking for a premium valuation. The Chinese billionaire, Li Ka-shing controls 67% stake in the mobile phone company and is reported to expect valuation at eleven times sales. The fourth largest telecom company is generating app. Rs 400 per month per subscriber but is reported to seek a premium price of between 35% and 45% to the current mobile phone leaders Reliance and Bharti. Mr. Shing is expecting for his 67% stake a steep price of $21 billion.

Advancers
HDFC Bank led the advancers, up 2% to Rs 1,078 after its ADR advanced 3% to $73.89 on Wednesday on the NYSE. Hero Honda was another big gainer, jumping 1.83% to Rs 758, TCS rose 1.73% to Rs 1,216 and ITC added 1.47% to Rs 179.

Initial Public Offering of Ess Dee Aluminium jumped 11% at the opening to Rs 260 from the IPO price of Rs 225 per share and settled back at Rs 238. The stock was one of the most-traded on BSE. HCL Technologies advanced 2.21% to Rs 633.90, as a block deal of 5 lakh shares was traded on BSE at Rs 619 per share.