5:30PM Market gains on productivity data, same-store sales and earnings.

-Dow closed up 38.58, Nasdaq up 19.93 and S&P up 4.4 points.
-Crude oil closed up 50 cents at $70.44 per barrel.
-Gold closed up $5.30 to $681.80 and silver up 10 cents to $13.93 per ounce.
-Yields on 10-year bonds closed at 5.15% and 30-year bonds at 5.24%.

-Asian markets were led by a 1.4% gain in Taiwan and 1.3% rise in Philippines.
-Latin American markets were led by a gain 0.64% gain in Mexico and 0.14% in Brazil.

Business sector productivity, unit labor cost, April retail same-store sales and corporate earnings were all part of the mix affecting market mood in the day. Business sector productivity was reported to rise 3.2% in the first quarter after falling 0.3% in the fourth quarter of the last year. Unit labor cost rose 2.5%, higher than market anticipation of 1.2%. Mixed message on the economy, generally weak trading in oil kept the market average in the positive territory during the day. Market averages closed higher at close but only by a fraction.

Corporate earnings again boosted market sentiment in the day. Starbuck (SBUX: chart) reported earnings of 16 cents beating the estimates of 10 cents for the quarter. Whole Foods reported earnings of 36 cents beating the estimates of 35 cents and Expeditors International (EXPD: chart) reported earnings of 47 cents vs. 28 cents a share a year ago on net revenue rise of 28%. The company also announced two for one stock split. Expeditors gained $16.04 to close at $103.80. Cognizant (CTSH: chart) gained $1.50 to close at $68.40. Earlier the company reported earnings of 32 cents vs. 22 cents a year ago on revenue rise of 57%. Whole Foods (WFMI: chart) jumped $8.27 to close at $70.42 on earnings release of 36 cents vs. 30 cents a year ago on revenue rise of 21%. The same store sales rose 11.9% for the quarter.

April retail same-store sales exceeded analysts’ expectations. Apparel, spring seasonal goods and discount items contributed to sales gains.


3:00PM April same-store sales rise better than expected.
Gasoline price and rising interest rates did stop consumers from spending in April. Apparel, spring goods and discount goods. Discounters such as Wal-Mart, Target and Costco reported better than expected sales in April. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) reported 6.8% April same-store sales growth. Total sales in April rose 16% to $26 billion. Target (TGT: chart) reported 10% rise in April sales. Mall based department stores Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus reported sales rise of 7.3% and 9.5% respectively. Strong employment level and rising portfolio yields attracted wealthy shoppers to the luxury retailers. Teenager retailers showed one of the strongest gains in same-store sales. Abercrombie & Fitch reported 17% rise in store sales led by Abercrombie kids. American Eagle store sales in April rose 19% and total sales rose 25% in the month. Chico’s April sales rose 5.4% and failed to meet expectations of 7.7%. Chico’s declined 18% on heavy trading volume.

12:30PM European markets closed higher on oil majors.
European markets finished Thursday higher, boosted by major oil companies, record-high copper prices and strong performance of U.S. markets. Strong gains in mining, chemicals and utility companies offset concerns about possible interest-rate hikes. Shares of oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and Total rose by 0.4% and 1.7% respectively, reflecting stronger-than-expected earnings. Upbeat Q1 results from chemicals company BASF sent the stock up 2.4%. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates steady as expected. The German DAX 30 rose 1.2%, the French CAC 40 gained 0.8%, and London FTSE 100 added 0.5%.

Crude oil prices dropped below $70 on growing gasoline inventories. Light sweet crude June delivery fell $2.83 to $69.45 a barrel. Gasoline lost 10 cents to $1.985 a gallon. London Brent dropped $1.02 to $71.63. European gold futures advanced on weaker dollar. In London the precious metal rose to $673.35 per troy ounce, up from $664.60. In Zurich gold climbed to $673.85 from $668.05. Silver closed at $13.90, up from $13.80. The U.S. dollar lost ground in European trading. The euro traded at $1.2682, up from $1.2625. The dollar bought 113.54, down from 113.64 yen. The British pound was quoted at $1.8487, up from $1.8411.


11:30AM Stocks moved lower in late morning.
Upbeat data on worker productivity and strong April retail sales boosted stocks Thursday, sending the three major averages firmly higher with the Dow up to a six-year high. A sharp decline in oil prices below $72 and better-than-expected earnings from Tyco also generated positive sentiment.

The transportation sector showed a significant strength on weak oil prices, as it offset recent concerns about higher fuel costs. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 2.8%, rising to a record intraday high. The gold sector also moved notably higher, benefiting from a sharp rise in the price of the precious metal to $676.50 an ounce. Some disk drive stocks made a strong performance, with Iomega (IOM: chart), M-Systems (FLSH: chart) and SanDisk (SNDK: chart) posting notable gains. Semiconductor, biotechnology, and health insurance stocks gained strength as well.

However, some individual stocks came under pressure, with shares of ViroPharma (VPHM: chart) currently down 15.9% on disappointing earnings. Former Dow component Eastman Kodak (EK: chart) declined 5% after reporting wider Q1 net loss. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.02, or 0.4%, to 11,446.30, near its highest levels since January 2000. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 5.14, or 0.39%, and the Nasdaq composite index surged 16.01, or 0.69%. Bonds fluctuated, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note unchanged at 5.15% from late Wednesday.


10:30AM Sensex experiences volatile session to slightly edge up.
Sensex in India finished 36.91 points higher, or 0.3% up, at yet another record high of 12,347.63. BSE recorded a turnover of Rs 5,119 crore ($1.3 billion) today down from Wednesday’s Rs 5,211 crore ($1.28 billion). Refinery stocks soared on the report that petrol prices at pump stations might go up, the moment the assembly elections are over next week. Reliance Industries surged 4% to Rs 1,076.05 to pull off a peak of Rs 1,122 for the stock on a heavy volume of 4.5 million shares. Other refineries also attracted attention. BPCL advanced 7.8% to Rs 590, HPCL gained 4% to Rs 346 and IOC rose 2.9% to Rs 592.90.

ICICI Bank also gained 1.9% to Rs 661 on strong quarterly results. HDFC Bank added 2% to Rs 880. Other banks rallied in the session as well. Corporation Bank rose 7% and Bank of India and Union Bank of India gained 5%. Among the decliners were GACL, which lost 6% on high volumes of 4 million shares in the process of its proposed merger with Ambuja Cement Eastern. Other decliners were Grasim, down 1.1% to Rs 2,404, and ACC, which also lost 1.1% to Rs 974. India Cement plummeted 8.6% to Rs. 209.40, following NSE trade action.In automotive shares, Maruti Udyog lost 1.4% to Rs 949.50 and Hero Honda declined 1% to Rs 836, both companies traded lower on expected higher fuel prices. Century textiles lost 6% after the company reported 41% decline in fourth quarter profit.


9:45AM Stocks opened higher on strong retail sales.
U.S. stocks advanced Thursday, reflecting strong monthly retail sales and upbeat earnings reports from companies including Tyco International Ltd. (TYC: chart), Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI: chart) and Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (EXPD: chart).

Major retail companies reported better-than-anticipated monthly sales. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) reported a 6.8% gain in same-store sales that was better than the 5.7% estimate from analysts. Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST: chart) had a 7% gain in same-store sales, beating the 5.5% estimate. Limited posted a 9% increase in same-store sales, better than the 5.2% gain expected. Pacific Sunwear of California (PSUN: chart) had a 14% gain in same-store sales, exceeding the 5.2% estimate from analysts.