12:30AM European markets gained ground.
European stocks dropped at mid-day dealings but later recovered to close sharply higher, boosted by stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls data and continuous banking sector takeover speculations, including Societe Generale, up 4.8% and Deutsche Bank, up 3.4%. The German DAX 30 surged 1.3%, the French CAC 40 climbed 1.2%, and London FTSE 100 rose 0.9%.

Crude oil prices hovered round $60 on worries that further militant attacks will disrupt Nigeria’s oil production. Light sweet crude April delivery gained fell 25 cents to $60.67 a barrel. Gasoline lost 1 cent to $1.7175. Heating oil was also down a cent to $1.7065. Natural gas rose marginally to $6.605. London Brent rose 24 cents to $61.30. European gold lost ground. In London gold fell to $540.80 bid per troy ounce, down from $547.30. In Zurich the precious metal traded at $539.30, down from $546.10. In Hong Kong gold dropped 70 cents to $546.10. Silver closed at $9.92 per troy ounce, up from $9.90. The U.S. dollar advanced against other major currencies. The euro traded at $1.1877, down from $1.1905. The dollar bought 119.07 yen, up from 118.18. The British pound was quoted at $1.7241, down from $1.7354.


11:30AM Major averages came off intraday highs.
Market averages were supported by strong buying interest, though they lost some of the earlier gains. The Dow Jones came off intraday highs, trading up 82 points. The Nasdaq was also trading below the highest morning session levels, currently posting an advance of 11 points. All ten sectors continue to post gains with the semiconductor sector providing a strong support to the Nasdaq which managed to from recent losses. Computer hardware was another strong arm of tech support. Bond prices headed lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.77% from 4.72% late Thursday.

American International Group (AIG: chart) stood out as the most conspicuous gainer among Dow components. The stock rose 1.6%, climbing to over a 2-week high. General Electric (GE: chart) was another strong performer, rising 1.2%, over a 2-week high. Procter & Gamble (PG: chart) gained 1.1%, setting a new 52-week high. Of all 30 Dow components only Pfizer (PFE: chart) traded in the negative, falling by 0.1%.


10:30AM U.S. Stocks managed to build on upward momentum.
Friday session started mixed with the blue chips supporting the Dow but the Nasdaq moving to the downside on weak tech and biotech stocks. Recently averages managed to build on upward momentum. The Nasdaq pushed upward to enter the positive territory, gaining 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Dow reached its intraday high, rising 0.5%. On the economic news front, The U.S. Commerce Department revealed that January inventories at wholesalers edged up by 0.1% to a seasonally-adjusted level of $362.81 billion, slightly higher than economists had predicted.

The bank sector rose 0.7%. AIG (AIG: chart) boosted both the sector and the Dow. Insurance, brokers, REITs, and banks outperformed. Littelfuse (LFUS: chart), circuit protection products supplier, was one of the most conspicuous gainers in the early going, up 15% after it reported higher Q1 guidance. Allion Healthcare (ALLI: chart), specialty pharmacy services provider, stood out as one of the worst performers. The company’s shares dropped 18% after it said it will restate its Q2 results.


9:45AM- Stocks opened mixed.
Stocks opened mixed Friday. The Dow rose 0.4%, lifted by gains in AIG (AIG: chart), Verizon (VZ: chart) and Honeywell (HON: chart). The Nasdaq was more than 3 points below the flat level. Better-than-expected job creation data confused investors as on the one hand it met, even exceeded expectations, but on the other raised concerns about interest rates.
Housing stocks moved slightly up, trying to recover after rising treasury yields sent them lower. Retail and broker/dealer stocks also posted modest strength. The gold sector dropped again Friday, down 1.8%, reaching its lowest levels in two months. The sector tried to stabilize on Thursday, following a 3- day losing streak.
Technology stocks posted some weakness, with the disk drive, Internet and networking sectors sitting modestly below the unchanged mark. Energy stocks also moved to the downside, as light, sweet crude inched up.

9:00AM – Stock futures pointed to a slightly higher start.
U.S. stock futures indicated a slightly higher opening on better-than-expected job creation data. On Thursday stocks closed lower as they came under pressure after the initial higher start. The Nasdaq was the biggest decliner, falling to a month-low on disappointing news from the semiconductor sector which added to the tech sector recent losses and nervousness ahead of monthly employment report. On Friday, the Labor Department released the report on February employment, showing that the economy added more jobs than expected. The U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs, versus expectations of a job growth of about 220,000 compared to the increase of 193,000 originally reported for January. S&P 500 futures for June were up 2.60 points, above fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures for June climbed 22 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures for June were up 4.50 points.


Crude oil prices hovered round $60 on worries that further militant attacks will disrupt Nigeria’s oil production. Light sweet crude April delivery gained 2 cents to $60.49 a barrel. Gasoline added 1 cent to $1.7337. London Brent rose 19 cents to $61.25. European gold traded mixed. In London gold fell to $543.10 bid per troy ounce, down from $547.30. In Zurich the precious metal traded unchanged at $546.10. In Hong Kong gold dropped 70 cents to $546.10. Silver opened at $10 per troy ounce, up from $9.90. The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies. The euro traded at $1.1921, up from $1.1905. The dollar bought 118.29 yen, up from 118.18. The British pound was quoted at $1.7369, up from $1.7354.


Job growth in February exceeded expectations.
The Department of Labor released its report on the employment situation in the month of February, showing that the economy added more jobs than anticipated. At the same time, the report showed that the unemployment rate edged slightly higher. The report showed that the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in February following a downwardly revised increase of 170,000 jobs in January. Economists had been expecting job growth of about 220,000 compared to the increase of 193,000 originally reported for January.

The Labor Dept. noted that job gains occurred in construction, financial activities, health care, and several other industries. While the bigger than expected increase in jobs may generate some optimism about the strength of the labor market, it may also raise concerns that a tight labor market could lead to higher wages and subsequently higher inflation. Traders have grown increasingly concerned about inflation recently, as they attempt to gauge the outlook for interest rates. The Federal Reserve is holding a two-day meeting on interest rates later this month, with many analysts expecting another rate hike. As mentioned above, the Labor Dept. report also showed that the unemployment rate edged up to 4.8 percent in February from a 4-1/2 year low of 4.7 percent in January. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.


Ann Taylor Turns Tides, Crosstex Energy in the Green, Young Broadcasting Loss Deeper
Young Broadcasting, (YBTVA: chart), media firm, reported a Q4 net loss of 71 cents a share, much wider than loss of 6 cents a share a year-ago on revenue decline. Station operating performance dropped to $12.4 million from $22.9 million. The company’s loss was wider than the predicted by analyst loss of 63 cents a share.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp, (ANN: chart), apparel retailer, reported Q4 net income of 38 cents a share, swinging from a loss of 18 cents a share year-ago. If not for special items, the company would have reported income of 43 cents a share for Q4. Sales grew up 17.8% from the prior year, and comparable-store sales rose 6.8%. The company missed analysts’ forecasts for earnings of 40 cents a share.

Crosstex Energy Inc, (XTXI: chart), natural gas company, reported Q4 net income of 33 cents a limited partner unit, up from 23 cents a unit. Net income in Q4 of 2005 was influenced by a $2.3 million gain from the mark-to-market valuation of the derivative financial instruments purchased to protect against liquid prices fluctuations in conjunction with the South Louisiana processing business. The corporation reported Q4 net income of $3.47 a share, up from 19 cents a share a year ago. Q4 net income included a non-cash gain on issuance of units of the partnership of $65.1 million connected with the partnership''s offering of 6.6 million units during Q4.