[R]9:45AM U.S. markets opened lower on disappointing tech earnings.[/R]

U.S. stocks declined at opening Wednesday amid a batch of mixed earnings reports that led to some profit-taking. A sharp decline in the dollar, hitting a 26-year low vs. the British pound and nearing an all-time low vs. the euro, also contributed to the negative mood. Weakness in the tech sector weighed after disappointing earnings results sent Yahoo (YHOO: chart) down 12% and a broker downgrade pushed IBM (IBM: chart) lower by 2%.

Financial stocks were helped by J.P. Morgan (JPM: chart), which like a number of other blue-chip stocks which have released Q1 earnings so far, topped estimates. The company''s shares rose 4% after it said Q1 net income rose more than 50% to $1.34 a share, from 86 cents a year ago, well above estimates of $1.02 a share. The company also increased its dividend by 12% and launched a $10 billion stock repurchase program. Intel (INTC: chart)also helped support the Dow, rising 0.5% after the chip maker''s earnings topped expectations. Caterpillar (CAT: chart) also supported the blue-chip average, moving up 1.5% after Wachovia upgraded the company, predicting that its earnings will accelerate in 2008.

Further on the earnings news front, United Technologies (UTX: chart) was among the very few gainers, moving 0.7% higher on stronger-than-expected profit. Shares of Motorola (MOT: chart) rose 2.1% after the company said that revenue and earnings excluding special items beat expectations. Outside the sector, Abbott Laboratories (ABT: chart) dropped 2.2% after the company reported Q1 earnings drop of 19% to 45 cents a share from 56 cents a year earlier, exceeding expectations. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.61, or 0.12%, to 12,757.43. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 2.64, or 0.18%, at 1,468.84, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 8.45, or 0.34%, to 2,508.50.


[R]9:30AM The UK benchmark index declines Wednesday on interest rate fears.[/R]

The UK market was lower on Wednesday. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 was down 30 points to 6,471.1.

Advancers

Barclays traded higher, rising 0.8%, as ABN Amro announced it would meet with rival suitors Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander and Fortis to hear their proposal for a break-up bid.

Among the mid-caps, EMI Group advanced 6% as the world third largest record company stated it had suspended its dividend payments and was mulling a securitisation of its publishing assets. EMI has warned on profits twice this year.

Another mid-cap, WS Atkins, advanced 7.8% after the engineering consultancy announced that profit for the year to March would be significantly ahead of expectations. DS Smith also advanced 7.1% after an upbeat trading statement from the packaging group.

Decliners

Real estate stocks led the decliners, with Hammerson down 2.3% and Land Securities Group off 1.9%.

Ex-dividend stocks were also lower. British Land fell 2.2%, BAE Systems dropped 2.1%, Legal & General lost 2% and Slough Estates was off 2.1%.


[R]9:15AM Asian markets finished mixed Wednesday with Japan higher, HK lower.[/R]

Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday. The 225-issue Nikkei Average ended up 0.8% to 17,667.33. Canon was 0.8% higher in Tokyo, while Toyota Motor added 1.1%. Medical-imaging equipment maker Fujifilm Holdings advanced 1.4% after reports that the company will report an 80% increase in group operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2008.

Australian S&P ASX/200 gained 0.8% to end at 6,236.90. BHP Billiton added 1.3% and Rio Tinto was up 1.4% after copper prices reached their highest-ever level in New York trading on concerns over a potential supply disruption related to a labor dispute at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Shanghai Composite Index ended nearly unchanged at 3,612.39 and Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closed 0.1% lower at 20,777.09. In China, investors took to the sidelines ahead of the release of the country first-quarter GDP data Thursday afternoon, which is believed to show Chinese economy continues to expand at a rapid pace. Shares of PICC Property & Casualty tumbled 6.1% in Hong Kong, after reporting 2006 net profit had more than doubled.

South Korean Kospi index ended up 0.4% at 1534.58. Hyundai Motor fell 0.7%, easing back from earlier gains. Taiwan Weighted Price Index rose 0.6% to close at 8,003.31 and Singapore Straits Times Index shed 0.4% to 3,400.41.