[R]2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers[/R]

AMR Corp. (AMR: chart), airline company, said that it swung to a profit of $81 million, or 30 cents per share, in the first three months of the year, compared to a loss of $92 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.6 percent, to $5.43 billion, slightly below the $5.46 billion forecast by analysts. American drew strength from its international operations, which saw stronger traffic, while the domestic business was weaker. Shares climbed 3.2%.

Espeed Inc. (ESPD: chart) shares climbed 10.1% after the shareholder of securities-trading software company eSpeed Inc., Chapman Capital LLC, called for the replacement of four eSpeed directors. Chapman Capital is the Los Angeles-based investment adviser to two funds that together own 9.3% of eSpeed''s Class A shares. Chapman also reiterated its previous demands that the board agree to an immediate auction of the company and collapse the dual voting ownership structure by converting all Class B common shares into Class A.

Genlyte Group Inc. (GLYT: chart), light manufacturer, said that for the first quarter it earned $35 million or $1.20 per share compared with $48.6 million, or $1.70 per share, for the same quarter in 2006. The 2006 quarter''s results included a $24.7 million tax benefit, that boosted the company''s earnings per share by 86 cents. Revenue rose 20% to $394.4 million versus $329.2 million in the year-ago period. The company said a combination of adding new products and maintaining price increases helped achieve higher sales and profit margins for the first quarter. Shares jumped 7.9%.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM: chart), banking company, said first-quarter net income increased more than 50% to $4.8 billion, or $1.34 per share, compared with $3.1 billion, or 86 cents per share in the year-ago period. Income from continuing operations came in at $4.8 billion, or $1.34 per share, compared with $3 billion, or 85 cents per share last year. Total net revenue climbed 25% to $18.97 billion. The company also increased its dividend by 12% to 38 cents per share and launched a $10 billion stock repurchase program. Shares climbed 3.8%.

Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC: chart), chipmaker, shares jumped 12% after the company posted in-line third-quarter earnings and announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan. For the period the company earned $98.6 million, or 32 cents per share, on revenue of $255 million. Analysts expected earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $254 million. During the year-earlier period, the company earned $110.6 million, or 35 cents per share, on revenue of $278.9 million.

OMI Corp. (OMM: chart), which owns and operates a fleet of crude oil tankers, shares rose 5.1% after the company agreed to be bought out by Teekay and Denmark''s TORM for $1.81 billion in cash.

Badger Meter (BMI: chart) shares sank 10.3% after the maker of flow measurement and control technology said fiscal first-quarter profit declined 39%, and widely missed Wall Street expectations. Net income declined to $2.6 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with $4.2 million, or 30 cents per share, during the same period last year. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, versus $5.2 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.

Cognex Corp. (CGNX: chart), which makes vision sensors used by manufacturers, said that its first-quarter profit plunged 47% from last year as sales declined. Net income for the quarter was $4.6 million, or 10 cents per share, down from $8.8 million, or 18 cents per share, for the first quarter 2006. Revenue was $50.9 million, down 14% from $59 million in the year ago period. Shares fell 6.5%.

Knight Capital Group Inc. (NITE: chart), which executes trades for institutional investors, said that its first-quarter profit slid 35% on lower revenue and a loss from discontinued operations. Net income fell to $31.9 million, or 31 cents per share, from $49.1 million, or 47 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Revenue for the quarter fell 12.8% to $241.7 million. On a continuing operations basis, profit was 32 cents per share. Shares fell 6.1%.

Syntel Inc. (SYNT: chart), information technology and outsourcing services provider, said its first-quarter profit climbed 28%, bolstered by higher revenue and better margins. The company lifted full-year expectations, but warned that second-quarter earnings and margins would be hurt by visa processing costs and salary increases in India. The company''s gross profit margin improved to 39.1 percent from 38.3 percent in the prior-year period. Shares fell 7.1%.

[R]1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed in the negative on weak mining and automotive stocks.[/R]

European stock markets closed in the negative on Wednesday, dragged down by weaker mining and automotive stocks which offset gains from chip-equipment maker ASML and Swiss drug maker Roche. Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto declined 2.6% and 1%, respectively as copper prices pulled back and the dollar weakened. The record-low dollar also hurt exporter-related stocks. Accordingly, shares of BMW slipped 1.3%, while Porsche also lost ground. Among other losers, shares of rate-sensitive property companies Hammerson dropped 2.5% while British Land lost more than 4%. On the side of the gainers, shares of ASML Holding rose 5.49% after the producer of equipment used to manufacture microchips said Q1 net profit nearly doubled to 153 million euros.
Meanwhile, shares of Swiss drug giant Roche Holdings moved up 2%. The German DAX 30 declined 0.90% to close at 7,282.34, the French CAC-40 lost 0.38% at 5,835.95 and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 slipped 0.74% at 6,449.40.


[R]11:30AM U.S. market averages turned mixed on earnings reports.[/R]

U.S. market averages turned mixed in late morning trading, reflecting upbeat earnings at JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. and concerns about the technology sector, raised by lower-than-expected earnings at Yahoo and a downgrade of IBM. J.P.Morgan (JPM: chart) and Intel (UNTC: chart) led the Dow higher, posting an advance of 4.1% and 1.7%, respectively.

Notable weakness was visible among disk drive stocks, with Seagate Technology (STX: chart) helping to lead the sector down, posting a decline of 7% on weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. IBM (IBM: chart) was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was weighed down by a 12% drop in the shares of Yahoo (YHOO: chart).

Strength in the semiconductor sector helped limit losses. Shares of Linear Technology (LLTC: chart) climbed 12% after the chip maker reported Q3 earnings in line with analyst estimates and revealed a $3 billion accelerated stock repurchase plan. Some transportation stocks also posted strong gains, with shares of CSX (CSX: chart) up 4.1% even though the railroad operator reported Q1 earnings drop that came in below analyst estimates.

Oil service stocks showed weakness following several downgrades by Citigroup (C: chart), while airline stocks moved higher, helped by AMR (AMR: chart), which rose 2.6% after posting quarterly profit versus a loss a year ago. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 20.23, or 0.16%, at 12,793.27, points away from its trading high of 12,795.93 set Feb. 20. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.43, or 0.10%, at 1,472.91, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 3.99, or 0.16%, to 2,512.96. Bonds rose for the third straight session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.66% from 4.69% late Tuesday.