1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed little changed.
European stock markets finished slightly lower on Thursday amid weakness in the shares of automakers Renault and DaimlerChrysler, pressured by higher oil prices. Merger news, involving food group Nestle and Nordic exchange operator OMX, failed to lift sentiment. European Central Bank provided some relief by leaving interest rates unchanged. Shares of Renault fell 0.8% after it said that vehicle sales declined 5.6% in March. DaimlerChrysler slipped 1.2% after WestLB disclosed that it holds 14% stake in the company for trading purposes and expects to cut this stake to below 3%. In merger-and-acquisition news, Nordic stock-exchange operator OMX climbed 10% in Stockholm after it said that it''s in exploratory talks with several exchanges regarding possible forms of cooperation. In other deal news, Nestle, the world''s largest food company, slipped 1.1% after it agreed to buy the U.S. Gerber baby-food business from Swiss drug maker Novartis AG for $5.5 billion in cash. In the telecom sector, shares of Spanish carrier Telefonica lost 0.7% amid reports that it could launch a counterbid for the stake in Telecom Italia held by Pirelli''s holding company Olimpia. The U.K.''s FTSE 100 closed virtually flat at 6,416.40, while the German DAX 30 declined 0.1% at 7,142.95 and the French CAC-40 slipped 0.1% at 5,748.94.


11:30AM U.S. market averages rebounded on bargain hunting.
U.S. stocks reversed from early losses, as investors turned to bargain hunting, looking past warnings of lighter retail sales in April, losses for Research in Motion and rising oil prices. The major averages benefited from significant strength among biotechnology, housing and chemical stocks. A leading gainer among biotech stocks and on the Nasdaq was MedImmune (MEDI: chart) which surged 12% on news that it is considering a sale of the company. The Dow Jones Industrial was led higher by gains in Honeywell Inc. (HON: chart), up 1.1%, Pfizer Inc. (PFE: chart), up 1.2% and Dupont (DD: chart), up 1%.

Utility and airline stocks continued to post declines, helping to limit the upside for the major averages. The notable increase by the price of oil contributed to some weakness in the oil-sensitive airline sector. AMR (AMR: chart) fell 2.2% and JetBlue (JBLU: chart) slipped 1.8%. Some computer hardware stocks also came under pressure, with shares of Research in Motion (RIMM: chart), falling 9%. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.83, or 0.05%, to 12,491.45. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 1.26, or 0.09%, to 1,440.13, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.12, or 0.29%, to 2,466.43. Bonds advanced amid concerns of weaker corporate profits. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.72% from 4.74% late Wednesday.

Import and export prices rose sharply in March.
The Department of Labor released its report on import and export prices in the month of March on Thursday, showing that import prices rose sharply amid a significant increase in petroleum import prices. Export prices also increased compared to the previous month. The report showed that import prices surged up 1.7 percent in March following a revised 0.1 percent increase in February. This marked the biggest increase in import prices since May of 2006 and was largely due to a 9.0 increase in petroleum import prices. The Labor Department also said that export prices rose 0.7 percent in March, matching the increase that was seen in the previous month. The increase in export prices was due in large part to a 2.1 percent increase in agricultural export prices.

Initial jobless claims steeply rose.
Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended April 7, showing that jobless claims unexpectedly showed a notable increase compared to the previous week. The report showed that jobless claims rose to 342,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 323,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edged down to 320,000 compared to the 321,000 originally reported for the previous week.


9:45AM U.S. markets opened lower on warnings of weaker retail sales in April.
Wall Street opened in the negative despite strong retail sales in March. The negative sentiment was generated by warnings of lackluster sales in the month of April. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) fell 0.7% following a stronger-than-expected results but a tepid outlook for April. Pier 1 Imports (PIR: chart) lost 1% after reporting a decline in Q1 same-store sales and a larger year-over-year-quarterly loss. The retailer said that Q4 loss widened to 67 cents a share, from 11 cents a share. Among other retailers releasing monthly sales, Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST: chart) posted 6% rise in comparable-store sales, topping estimates of 4.7% increase. Total sales rose 11% to $5.94 billion. The stock gained 1%. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO: chart) rose 1.1% after the retailer said same-store sales jumped 20% in March, well ahead of the 11.1% expected by analysts. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: chart) added 2.3% after posting 7% growth in March same-store sales, while Pacific Sunwear (PSUN: chart) surged 7% as its March same-store sales rose 14%.

Technology stocks posted weakness, dragged by Research in Motion (RIMM: chart) which fell 9.2% after the company said sales jumped 66% during the quarter but released disappointing Q1 forecast. The strong sales were contributed to strong demand for the company''s BlackBerry devices. The company also said that SEC started a formal investigation into the company''s stock option granting practices. Financial stocks moved to the upside, helped by subprime mortgage lender NovaStar Financial (NFI: chart). The stock climbed 7% after it said it is considering new strategic alternatives and is open to buyout offers. Similarly, MedImmune Inc. (MEDI: chart) surged 12% after it said it''s considering alternatives. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 28.93, or 0.23%, to 12,455.69. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index slipped 1.57, or 0.11%, to 1,437.30, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.56, or 0.14%, to 2,455.75. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.72% from 4.74% late Wednesday.


9:30AM FTSE 100 declines in mid-day trade on lack of fresh bid developments.
The UK market was lower in mid-day trading. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 % to 6,387.4, a decline of 25 points.

Advancers

SABMiller rose 1.5% on news of strong lager volume growth. The group posted full year trading in line with expectations, but added that lager volumes grew 23% during the period, including organic growth of some 10%, which pleased the market.

Another strong performer was Vodafone, up 0.8%, after analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their rating on the stock to buy from hold.

Mid-cap JJB Sports gained 2.2% after its annual profit missed forecasts, but not by as much as some had feared in the run-up to the numbers.

Decliners

Scottish & Newcastle declined 3.4% after SABMiller seemed to reject speculation that it could bid for the brewer of John Smith bitter and Newcastle Brown Ale. J Sainsbury continued to fall, down a further 1% after CVC abandoned offer for the supermarket chain.

Hammerson, down 2.1% and also linked with possible bid interest from private equity, was hit by a broker downgrade. Lehman Brothers cut its rating on the stock to equal weight from overweight and reduced its price target

Companies exposed to the US suffered losses. Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, was 0.9% weaker. Wolseley, the plumbing goods supplier highly active in America, fell 0.8% to. Experian, the credit quality data provider, was 1.4% lower.