1:00PM European markets finished higher, boosted by tobacco and bank stocks.
European stocks finished in the green on Thursday, bolstered by rallying tobacco stocks and comments by ECB Jean-Claude Trichet that prompted interest rates might be further increased early next year. European gained after the European Central Bank lifted interest rates to 3.5% from 3.25%, and the Bank of England left its key rate unchanged at 5%, in line with expectations. The tobacco sector moved notably higher, as Gallaher Group shares soared 21.6% after it said it had received an offer approach, reportedly by Japan Tobacco. Other tobacco shares benefited from the news, with Imperial Tobacco jumping 10% and shares in British American Tobacco adding 2.3%. Strength in the financial sector also contributed to the broad advance. British bank Barclays added 3% on takeover speculation. Of peers, Deutsche Bank shares climbed 1% and Lloyds TSB shares rose 1.3%. French construction, media and telecoms conglomerate Bouygues gained 2.5% after the company posted a 36% increase in Q3 profit and lifted its sales guidance for the year. The U.K. FTSE 100 climbed 0.7%, followed by the French CAC 40, up 0.7%, and the German DAX 30, up 0.5%.

Crude oil prices hovered round $62 on concerns over oil production cuts and violence in Nigeria. Crude oil January contract fell 19 cents to $62 a barrel. Heating oil slipped to $1.7775 a gallon, while gasoline added to $1.625. Natural gas fell 9 cents to $7.7636 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 40 cents to $63.85. The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3297, up from $1.3285. The dollar bought 115.14 yen, up from 115.26. The British pound was quoted at $1.9639, down from $1.9658. European gold prices further declined. In London, gold traded at $626.35 per troy ounce, down from $637.70. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $625 per ounce, down from $636.95. Silver closed at $13.50, down from $13.79.


11:30AM Market averages erased early gains on weak energy and tech stocks.
Stock market averages retreated from earlier gains as weakness in energy, consumer discretionary and technology stocks offset the positive sentiment generated by upbeat jobless data. Dow component Exxon Mobile (XOM: chart) was one of the average''s weaker components and was down 1.2%. Technology stocks dropped and blue-chip stocks pared gains, with shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM: chart) down 3.7% after brokerage downgrades. Shares of Home Depot (HD: chart) slipped 1.1%. Yesterday the home improvement retailer said it had found almost 20 years of option grant backdating. Housing stocks also moved sharply lower on brokerage downgrades. Some weakness was also posted by the gold sector, due to lower prices of the precious metal.

On the other hand, some strength emerged in the tobacco sector, with Gallaher Group (GLH: chart) helping to lead the sector higher, up 1.9% on acquisition speculation. Dow component Altria (MO: chart) gained nearly 1%. Among stocks driven by analyst comments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP: chart) was a notable gainer, with the auto parts retailer rising 4.2% after Citigroup upgraded its rating on the company''s stock to buy from hold. In contrast, shares of Tellabs (TLAB: chart) dropped nearly 3% after J.P. Morgan downgraded its rating on the communications equipment maker to underweight from overweight. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.80, or 0.01%, at 12,310.05. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index remained near a six-year high but was down 1.21, or 0.09%, at 1,411.69, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 9.85, or 0.40%, at 2,436.01. Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.48% from late Wednesday.


10:30AM The Sensex nudged higher on Thursday in a volatile trading session.
The Sensex on BSE finished 23.03 points, or 0.17%, at 13,972.03. The market-breadth, was almost even. As 1,286 shares declined on BSE, 1,283 shares rose and 68 stocks were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex group, 17 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,787 crore, lower than Rs 4,561 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,480.37 crore, lower compared to Rs 8,702.49 crore on Wednesday.

Economic news

Airbus on Thursday said it plans to invest some $1 billion in India, setting up an engineering facility and a pilot training school. The European airplane maker had committed to investing in India as part of a deal with the government, which is purchasing 43 Airbus aircraft for the state-run Indian Airlines in a deal valued at $2.25 billion.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said that it had invested $60 million in a Mumbai luxury residential property as part of a growth plan in the country. This is the largest investment ever made in a Mumbai real estate firm, prompting the growing importance of India to financial institutions worldwide.

Most active

Reliance was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 147 crore followed by Indiabulls, Parsvnath, Jaiprakash and Tech Mahindra.

Advancers

Reliance Industries gained 1.4% to Rs 1,298.45. A report by brokerage CLSA said, Reliance Industries recently submitted revised field development plan indicated potential crude reserves of 1.6 billion barrels in the block. Also, there were unconfirmed reports that the company is close to acquiring Adani Retail. Adani has retail infrastructure that may help Reliance in its network of stores in Gujarat. Adani Enterprises jumped 5% to Rs 232.50.

Hindalco Industries rose 3% to Rs 183.30. The stock advanced for the second day in a row following reports that Chinese aluminium imports are rising. NTPC rose 2.3% to Rs 151.50. In a recent report dated 5 December 2006, Merrill Lynch has raised the price target on the stock.

Tata Motors gained 1.2% to Rs 892 in the last one hour of trade after being subdued for the most part. BHEL added 1.6% to Rs 2,665. The stock after reaching intra-day record high 2,668. HDFC Bank rose 1% to Rs 1,100. ICICI Bank advanced 0.3% to Rs 874. ICICI Bank today said its international assets will grow to 25% of its total assets, from the current 16%. State Bank of India also edged higher 0.4% to Rs 1,343.90. The bank could raise fresh equity capital in the fiscal year starting next April, once the banking law is amended.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements moved 1% higher to Rs 141.50. Holcim, the world second-largest cement maker, is looking to raise its stake in Gujarat Ambuja Cements, said a Holcim official in a report.

Decliners

Infosys shed 1.1% to Rs 2,220. Reliance Communications shed 1.6% to Rs 455. It added 1.35 million new subscribers in November (CDMA plus GSM based). Automakers were under pressure. Hero Honda lost 2.2% to Rs 750 and Bajaj Auto slipped 0.6% to Rs 2,692.

Housing finance large-cap HDFC shed 1.4% to Rs 1,566. Great Eastern Shipping lost 1.2% to Rs 227.05. It said on Thursday, it had signed a contract to buy a product tanker of 29,998 dead-weight tonnage. Marico lost 0.6% to Rs 546.50. A block deal of 1 lakh shares was executed in the stock on BSE, at Rs 550 per share.