1:00PM European markets slipped as weak dollar hurt exporter issues.
European stock markets ended lower for the third consecutive session after the U.S. dollar tumbled to its lowest level against the euro since April 2005. Euro broke through $1.30 and the British pound also rallied against the greenback. Consequently, exporter-related issues declined, with Siemens, Nestle, and BASF each falling 1%. However, deal talk provided a boost for certain shares. The French oil-services group Technip jumped 7.6% on news that Eni may bid for it. Remy Cointreau extended recent gains on speculation it may be bought following a decision to leave a distribution joint venture. Shares of the company rose 3.6%. Shares of champagne maker Laurent-Perrier rose 1.3% after it said first-half net income rose 47%. The German DAX 30 slipped 1%, followed by the French CAC 40, down 0.7%, and London FTSE 100, down 0.3%.

Crude oil prices advanced amid weak dollar and a disruption to supply in Nigeria. Crude oil December contract rose 70 cents to $59.94 a barrel. London Brent climbed 76 cents to $60.11. The U.S. dollar sharply dropped against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.3092, up from $1.2952. The dollar bought 115.81 yen, down from 116.17.The British pound was quoted at $1.9314, up from $1.9155. European gold prices advanced on the back of weak dollar. In London, gold traded at $638.20 per troy ounce, up from $630.30. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $638.05 per ounce, up from $630.45. Silver closed at $13.38, up from $13.09.


11:30AM Retail stock traded lower on Black Friday.
A steep drop of the U.S. dollar kept stocks under pressure Friday, as it heightened inflation worries and diminished the appeal of U.S. shares. The dollar fell on concerns about central banks'' diversifying their reserves and the greenback''s narrowing yield advantage over other currencies.

Retail stocks declined on Black Friday as the sector''s main measure dropped into the red in early trading. Family Dollar (FDO: chart) fell 1.6% after the discount retailer said it won''t file its annual report by the Friday extended deadline, citing its continuing investigation into stock options. Shares in Target Corp. (TGT: chart) lost about 1%, while Sears Holding (SHLD: chart) inched up 0.4%. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) also moved slightly down. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 15.30, or 0.12%, at 12,311.65. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 1.30, or 0.09%, at 1,404.79, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.69, or 0.07%, at 2,467.67. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.53% from 4.56% late Wednesday.


10:30AM The Sensex finishes the day slightly higher on buying in large-caps.
The Sensex on BSE finished on Friday with 22.50-point gain, or 0.16%, at 13,703.33. The market-breadth was positive throughout as small-cap and mid-cap stocks also benefitted from the rally. As 1,336 shares advanced on BSE, 1,195 declined and 88 remained unchanged. Among the 30-Sensex stocks, 18 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,213 crore, lifted by four block deals of 15.30 lakh shares each, executed in HDFC in opening trade at an average Rs 1,662 per share. Yesterday the turnover was Rs 5,531.48 crore. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8194.92, lower than Rs 8,884.68 crore.

Economic news

The wholesale price index in India rose 5.29% in the 12 months to Nov. 11, marginally lower than the previous week annual increase of 5.30% due to lower energy and milk prices, data showed on Friday. The figure was lower than a forecast of 5.32%.

Most active stocks

HDFC was the top traded stock on BSE, with a total turnover of Rs 1,021.86 crore, followed by Siemens, Bombay Dyei and Tata Steel.

Advancers

NTPC led the gainers, up 5.64% to Rs 149.95, on a high volume of 26.05 lakh shares. It struck a new 52-week high of Rs 150.70 following strong demand. As per grapevine, the company will benefit the most if the Indo-US nuclear deal finally sees the light of day. Pharma large-cap Dr Reddy’s advanced 2.53% to Rs 756, while Hindustan Lever was up 1.02% at Rs 243.10.

Tata Steel rose 2.57% to Rs 483.55, on a volume of 15.34 lakh shares. The company rejected media reports about a sweetened bid for Corus Group, to stall the counter-bid by a Brazilian company. Soon after Brazil CSN on 17 November launched a counter bid for Corus, the Tata Steel stock started declining with investors worrying that the steel maker will over-pay in a bidding war.

ONGC rose 1.16% to Rs 855, on reports that it is likely to win 21 blocks in the sixth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP VI). Of the 21 likely to be awarded to ONGC, 12 are deep-water blocks. Cipla and Hindalco gained 1.7% each at Rs 264 and Rs 178, respectively while Wipro ended to Rs 590.

Decliners

Hero Honda led the decliners, down 1.47% to Rs 735.95. It had hit a high of Rs 747. Zinc and cement producer Binani Industries lost 1.52% to Rs 354 ahead of the initial public offer of its subsidiary, Binani Cement.

Index heavy Reliance Industries lost 0.90% to Rs 1,260, on 4.39 lakh shares. It had hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,274.50. Thomas Cook India dropped 1.2% to Rs 533.95, after it reported 64.8% fall in net profit for the October quarter. Thomas Cook India lost 3.60% to Rs 521.25 after it reported a sharp decline in net profit to Rs 3.08 crore for the quarter ended October 2006.

Siemens sank 8.34% to Rs 1,172.50, slipping for the second straight day, after the company reported below market expectations results on 22 November. Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel shed 1% each to Rs 1,387 and Rs 616, respectively.