13:00PM European markets rebounded on strong U.S. jobs data.
European stock markets closed in the positive, boosted by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data and gains for financial Gommerzbank. The German DAX 30 advanced 0.29%, led by 4.3% rise in the shares of Commerzbank which posted third-quarter profit above estimates and announced positive financial expectations about 2006. Insurer Alianz reversed from earlier gains to close down 0.7%. The French CAC 40 climbed 0.49%, helped by Euronext. The stock exchange operator rose 4% on news that it is in talks to sell its 41.5% stake in clearing house LCH. Clearnet back to the company. A notable drag on the index was media company Publicis which fell 1.6% on lower sales growth in Q3. London FTSE 100 ended flat at 6,148.10, pressured by losses for British airways, down 3.4% on lower Q2 profit, and packaging group Rexam, down 4.4%.

Crude oil rebounded on renewed production concerns related to Nigeria and the Middle East. Crude oil December contract rose 87 cents to $58.75 a barrel. Gasoline added 5 cents to 41.505 a gallon, while heating oil rose 3 cents to 41.67. Natural gas futures climbed 19 cents to $8 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar gained ground against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2695, down from $1.2779. The dollar bought 118.08 yen, up from 117.12. The British pound stood at $1.8994, down from $1.9088. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $624.50 per troy ounce, up from $621. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $623.95 per ounce, up from $620.35. Silver closed at $12.48, down from $12.51.


11:30AM Stocks turned mixed amid strengthening oil prices.
U.S. stocks turned in a lackluster trading fashion, as a rebound in oil prices overshadowed better-than-expected jobs data. Shares of oil companies Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) and Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart) rose 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively. At the same time, consumer-oriented stocks such as Starbucks Corp. (SBUX: chart)) and McDonald''s Corp. (MCD: chart) slipped 1.8% and 1%. Retreating worries about the sharp economic slowdown sent economically-sensitive stocks like Boeing and General Motors up 1.1% and 0.8% respectively.

By sector, disk drive stocks posted some strength in morning trading, helped by Western Digital (WDC: chart) with a gain of 5.2% after reporting better-than-expected Q1 earnings growth. The gold sector also moved higher as the price of gold regained some ground after recent losses.

Among stocks driven by analyst comments, Intersil (ISIL: chart), manufacturer of analog integrated circuits, rose 2.9% after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the company''s stock to buy from neutral. On the other hand, shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY: chart) dropped 5% after Bear Stearns downgraded its rating on the biopharmaceutical company to peer perform from outperform.

Business activity accelerated in October.
The Institute for Supply Management released its report on business activity in the service sector in the month of October on Friday, showing that the pace of growth in the sector accelerated faster than economists had expected. The report showed that the business activity index rose to 57.1 in October from 52.9 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected a more modest increase by the index to 54.5. The acceleration in the pace of growth in the service sector came despite a slowdown in the pace of new orders growth, as the new orders index fell to 56.5 in October from 57.2 in September. The report also showed a slowdown in the pace of employment growth, with the employment index falling to 51.0 in October from 53.6 in September. The ISM also noted that the prices index fell to 51.9 in October from 56.7 in September, indicating a slowdown in the pace of price growth.


10:30AM The Sensex continues its winning streak today on large-caps rally.
The Sensex on BSE finished 39.67 points, or 0.3%, higher to 13,130.79. The benchmark index traded in a range of 129 points. The market breadth was weak. For 1,431 shares that declined, 1,076 shares advanced and 77 shares were unchanged. For Every six decliners there were five advancers. From the Sensex stocks, 15 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,007 crore, lower than the turnover of Rs 4,034 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,346.74 crore.

Economic news

The wholesale price index advanced 5.41% in the 12 months to Oct. 21, from 5.26% in the previous week, leading bond yields up and triggering concerns of a rate increase in coming months. The rise is mainly due to increase in prices of food and manufactured items.

Foreign funds inflow in October 2006 totaled Rs 8,013 crore, compared to their inflow of Rs 5,425 crore in September and Rs 4,643 crore in August 2006. The fund-flows into India can be attributed to strong earnings growth, together with increasing recognition of the long-term growth prospects of India.

The Indian rupee advanced today to its highest level against the dollar in more than six months on strong capital inflows and exporter selling.

The infrastructure sector output jumped 9.9% in September 2006 from a year earlier, much faster than the revised annual growth of 5.7% in August 2006 showed the latest economic data.

Advancers

ONGC surged 5% to Rs 884.50. The stock was bolstered by news on Thursday that Norsk Hydro of Norway had offered it stakes in two exploration blocks. The stock had surged on Thursday on reports the oil exploration large-cap is plotting tie-ups with Russian state oil firms.

Cement companies were in focus today. Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 3% to Rs 123, ACC rose 2.4% to Rs 1,006, UltraTech Cement gained 1.8% to Rs 897 and Grasim added 0.3% to Rs 2,790. At the beginning of this month, cement firms had lifted prices by Rs 5 per 50 kg bag in Maharashtra and Gujarat states.

Reliance Energy advanced 6% to Rs 509. Reliance Industries advanced 0.4% to Rs 1,289. The stock made a solid intra-day rebound. It had lost as much as 1.1% to a low of Rs 1,269.10 in early afternoon trade.

Dr Reddy’s Lab rose 2.5% to Rs 780. Last week, the company reported strong second-quarter results. Bajaj Auto gained 1.7% to Rs 2,828. Power generation company NTPC gained 1.6% to Rs 131.60. Software company Infosys ended flat at Rs 2,085. The stock recovered from Rs 2,063 in the afternoon.

Decliners