[R]1:00PM European markets closed lower on weaker telecoms shares.[/R]
European stocks closed modestly down on Thursday, pressured by weaker telecom shares. The decline of the telecoms companies followed reports that Vodafone considers launching a bid for Hutchison Essar, the fourth biggest mobile operator in India. Other deal news focused on airline Ryanair, drug company Sanofi-Aventis and media group Publicis. Ryanair shares rose 0.4% after it said that it is withdrawing its offer to buy Aer Lingus after the European Commission''s competition body said it would start investigating into the hostile takeover bid. Aer Lingus shares gained 0.7%. Shares in Sanofi-Aventis lost 0.2% on its CEO announcement that the company is interested in buying a biotech if one was available. More positively, shares in French ad agency giant Publicis Groupe rose 5.1% after it said that it will buy Digitas for $1.3 billion. Also, shares in U.K. medical device maker Smith & Nephew rose 6.3% on bid speculations. London FTSE 100 fell 0.3%, while the German DAX 30 and the French CAC 40 both lost 0.2%.


[R]11:30AM Market was little changed in a light trading ahead of holiday weekend.[/R]
Stocks traded little changed, with traders restraining from major moves ahead of the long holiday weekend. Market also digested several robust corporate profit reports along with slower-than-expected Q3 economic growth. ConAgra (CAG: chart) rose 2.3% after its fiscal Q2 profit rose 44%. Rite Aid rose 2% after reporting a narrower Q3 loss amid stronger pharmacy sales and increased prescription volume. The company also backed its 2007 profit prediction. Jabil Circuit (JBL: chart) dropped 10.6% after the company reported disappointing Q1, despite a 34% increase in revenue. PMC-Sierra (PMCS: chart), chip maker, fell 5.1% after cutting its Q4 profit forecast.

LifePoint (LPNT: chart) rose 2.8% on some positive analyst comments, supporting healthcare provider stocks. Resource stocks posted some weakness amid a decrease in commodities prices. In late morning trading on a day seeing light volume before the holidays, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.61, or 0.03%, to 12,460.26. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 0.31, or 0.02%, at 1,423.22, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 3.70, or 0.15%, at 2,431.31. Bonds showed little movement, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.60% from late Wednesday.


[R]Leading indicators inched up 0.1%.[/R]
Thursday morning, the Conference Board released its report on leading economic indicators in the month of November, showing that its leading index unexpectedly increased for the third consecutive month. The Conference Board said that its leading index rose 0.1 percent in November, matching the revised increase in October. Economists had expected the increase to come in unchanged compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The modest increase by the index reflected positive contributions from real money supply, vendor performance, manufacturers'' new orders for non-defense capital goods and stock prices. Negative contributions from initial claims for unemployment insurance and building permits helped to limit the upside for the index. The Conference Board also said that the coincident index increased 0.2 percent, while the lagging index increased 0.5 percent in November.


[R]10:30AM The Sensex advances modestly Thursday on autos and metals.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 44.65 points, or 0.33%, higher at 13,384.86. The market-breadth was firm as buying for small-cap and mid-cap stocks recovered. As 1,430 shares advanced, 1126 declineda and 70 remained unchanged. From the 30-issue Sensex stocks, 19 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,050 crore, lower than Rs 4,417 crore on Wednesday while the turnover on NSE was Rs 7,936.67 crore, compared with Rs 10,066.83 crore.

Economic news

Vodafone is reportedly mulling over a $13.5-billion-plus bid for India''s Hutchison Essar, the fourth largest mobile phone company in the country. Newbury-based Vodafone’s likely bid of $13.5-$14 billion would probably sprak a bidding war with India''s Reliance Communications Ltd, second-largest mobile services company.

Most-active stocks

Tech Mahindra was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 358.25 crore followed by Great Offshore and Indiabulls.

Advancers

The auto sector was in the center of attention today. The main advancers included Mahindra & Mahindra adding 4.03% to Rs 848.10, Tata Motors gaining 3.13% to Rs 862.10 and Bajaj Auto rising 2.22% to Rs 2,565.

Reliance Communication led the advancers, up 3.54% to Rs 463.40, and Reliance Energy also gained 2.52% to Rs 527. It rebounded from a low of Rs 505.

Index heavy Reliance Industries advanced 1.06% to Rs 1,261.80 on a volume of 7.38 lakh shares. Reliance Industries and Niko Resources, found out oil in the hydrocarbon rich Krishna-Godavari basin. Reliance Industries has 90% stake in the block and Niko 10%.

Maruti Udyog gained 0.43% to Rs 927 on reports that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the sale of 10.2% stake that remained with the government.

Glenmark Pharma soared 10.63% to Rs 631 on buying interest and Moser Baer India gained 12.58% to Rs 302 as it announced a sortie into the entertainment industry through the Indian home video market.

Software firm Tech Mahindra surged 20% to Rs 1,492.55, having reported the signing of a five-year deal to provide BT with strategic sourcing services.

Decliners