1:00AM NY European stocks closed higher, helped by deal news and DaimlerChrysler.
European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by merger-and-acquisition news and strength in the shares of DaimlerChrysler. The automaker rose 3.6% after investor Kirk Kerkorian offered $4.5 billion for the group''s struggling Chrysler unit last Thursday. Among other companies in focus, Germany''s Puma AG surged 9.4% as French luxury-goods group PPR offered to buy the sportswear group for about $7.1 billion. PPR bought 27.14% of Puma for 330 euros a share and is planning to bid the same price for the rest of the shares. Shares of PPR rose 3.2% in France. In other deal news, the Dutch Rodamco Europe jumped 8.7% after it agreed to be acquired by France''s Unibail Holding in a $15 billion, which will create Europe''s largest commercial real-estate company. Shares of Unibail slipped 4.8% in Paris. Resource stocks also provided support, as mining stocks benefited from a rise in metal prices. Among the biggest gainers, Vedanta Resources climbed 3.6% and Rio Tinto rose 2.5%. German DAX 30 index closed up 0.9% at 7,166.67, the U.K.''s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 6,417.80, while the French CAC 40 gained 0.4% at 5,766.27.


11:30AM U.S. markets were little changed. Oil and gold stocks gained, tech shares dropped.
U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday morning, as investors remained reluctant to buy stocks ahead of the first-quarter earnings season. Alcoa Inc. (AA: chart), the first company to report Q1 earnings, lost 0.6%. The gold sector made one of the market''s best performances in morning trading, as the price of gold advanced $6.90 at $683.80 an ounce. Oil service stocks also showed some strength, helped by a rebound by the price of oil. Baker Hughes (BHI: chart) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV: chart) turned in two of the sector''s best performances, each rising 1.7%. Among other gainers in the sector, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) added 0.7% and Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart) rose 1%. Natural gas, biotechnology, and telecommunication sectors were also among the gainers.

However, computer hardware stocks moved to the downside, with shares of Seagate Technology showing a notable decline. Seagate (STX: chart) dropped 9% after the hard disc drive manufacturer cut its Q3 revenue outlook, citing lower-than expected industry demand for 3.5-inch ATA disc drive. Homebuilders showed weakness, as D.R. Horton (DHI: chart)lost 1.8% after it said orders for new homes fell 37% last quarter. Mortgage lenders also moved notably down on concern about the health of housing. Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. (IMH: chart) dropped 9.4% and Novastar Financial Corp. (NFI: chart) fell 3.1%. Some chemical stocks also came under pressure, as Dow Chemical (DOW: chart) fell 2.5% after the company said that it has no interest in the reported $50 billion leveraged buyout.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened flat.
Wall Street opened near the flat line Tuesday, with investors awaiting reports on how the companies performed during the first quarter. The earnings season kicks off with aluminum producer Alcoa (AA: chart), which is expected to report profit of 75 cents a share. Among technology shares, chip equipment makers may get a boost. Tech stocks showed some strength, boosted by Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT: chart). The company''s shares rose 2.4% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Banc of America Securities. The btoker cited the company''s move to the solar power market. In contrast, hard-disk maker Seagate Technology (STX: chart) fell 8% after warning that Q3 revenue will come in below an early forecast of $2.9 billion to $3 billion.

Dow Chemical (DOW: chart) fell 2.3% after it announced it is not interested in the leveraged buyout. Citigroup (C: chart) was also in focus as the bank is expected to announce that 26,000 jobs will be cut or reassigned. The stock rose 0.5%. Mexican stocks advanced, led by Cemex (CX: chart) which rose 3.3% after it improved its bid for Australian building materials group Rinker (RIN: chart) by 22% to $15.3 billion. In other deal news, Imperial Tobacco''s (ITY: chart) made a second bid for Spanish-French cigarette maker Altadis. The new offer was valued at $16 billion but was rejected. In the early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.02, or 0.07%, to 12,578.16. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index edged up 1.92, or 0.13%, to 1,446.53, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.71, or 0.19%, to 2,473.89. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.73% from 4.75% late Monday.


9:30AM FTSE 100 was higher on Tuesday on strength in the mining sector.
The UK market is higher in mid-day trade on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 advanced 0.4%, or 25 points higher at 6,422.3.

Advancers

Mining stocks climbed, supported by stronger metals prices. Xstrata, which also came up with a bid offer for Gloucester Coal of Australia, rose 1.4%. Kazakhmys was 1.5% higher and Rio Tinto was 0.8% higher. BHP Billiton advanced 2.2%.

Imperial Tobacco overcame intraday losses to increase 0.2% in the wake of Altadis rejection of its latest, 47 euro a share bid for the Franco-Spanish company. Altadis announced the offer undervalued its growth prospects.

Decliners

J Sainsbury fell 4.2% on press reports that Lord Sainsbury of Turville and his family have blocked a higher, 582p per share offer from a trio of private equity bidders and have continued to indicate that they would be unhappy with less than 600p a share.

Crude prices dipped over the weekend, stabilising around $62 a barrel, weighing on shares in BP, which lost 0.6%, and Royal Dutch Shell, off 0.4%. Among mid-caps, Accident Exchange tumbled 41% after it issued a profit warning following slower-than-forecast growth in the third quarter.


9:00AM U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat opening ahead of Q1 earnings season.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat opening on Tuesday, reflecting cautiousness ahead of the Q1 earnings season and broker upgrades for tech companies Oracle, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices. Aluminum producer Alcoa (AA: chart) will be in focus on the last trading session before it reveals its Q1 results, due after the close. Alcoa was the best performing Dow component during Q1 and is expected to post a profit of 75 cents per share. Dow Chemical (DOW: chart), which surged Monday on speculations that it is the target of $50 billion leveraged buyout, is likely to decline after it said it''''s not interested in such offer. Citigroup (C: chart) will also attract attention due to a report that the world''s top bank will cut or reassign 26,000 people.

Among companies driven by analyst comments, Applied Materials (AMAT: chart) rose 1.9% in pre-open trade after Banc of America Securities upgraded the chip equipment maker to buy from neutral. Oracle Corp. (ORCL: chart) rose 1.8% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the software maker to buy from neutral. As there are no major economic data due out today, investors will look to speeches by three Federal Reserve officials to get a better idea of the central bank''s views on interest rates. Oil prices rebounded after falling nearly $3 a barrel on Monday amid tensions with Iran and forecasts that U.S. energy inventory figures would continue to decline. S&P 500 futures eased 0.5 of a point at 1,454.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose a half point at 1,824.50. Dow industrial futures rose a point.


8:30AM Asian markets finished mixed Tuesday with Japan lower and HK higher.
Asian markets finished mixed on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 79.07 points, or 0.5%, to 17664.69 following a 258.98-point rise Monday. Auto stocks ended the session mostly lower with Honda Motor down 2.1%, while Fuji Heavy Industries, which produce Subaru automobiles, dipped 5.3% after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to underweight after markets closed Monday. Exporters, which had fueled the recent recovery, were subjected to profit-taking, with IT stocks under selling pressure after U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices announced it would reduce capital-expenditure plans for this year.