4:10PM New York, 10:10PM Frankfurt, 2:00AM Mumbai – Global Markets Update

Yields on U.S. Bonds closed at 4.882% for 10-year maturity and 30-years maturities closed at 5.014%.

Crude oil gained 34 cents to close at $63.49 per barrel, gasoline fell 2.5 cents to close at 227.25 per gallon and natural gas rose 21 cents to close at $7.94 per mBtu.

Gold fell $4.10 to close at $659.30 per ounce, silver dropped 0.3 cent to close at $13.22 and copper rose $75 to close at $7,730 per metric ton.

Asian Markets fell across the region led by a sharp plunge of 6.5% in Shanghai Composite Index followed by a decline of 1.6% in Philippines and 1% loss in Australia. Hong Kong fell 0.86% and India lost 0.7%. Chinese government raised tax on securities trading to 0.3% from 0.1%. Previous measures to curb trading have not succeeded. After the fall, $2.3 trillion Shanghai and Shenzen markets are still up 45% for the year, best performing market in Asia. Foreign investment in China is limited to $10 billion. Toyota fell 1% on U.S. sales decline and Honda declined 0.7% on 9% sales loss in April. Industrial production in Japan fell 0.1% in addition to a revised loss of 0.3% in March. Indian stock market valuation crossed $1 trillion, and is less than 2% lower from record close in February. Thailand rebounded on the hopes that election dates will be set sooner than expected by the tribunal picked by military rulers.

European Markets closed fractionally lower on worries that China sell-off may start another round of global markets corrections. Norway led the region with a loss of 0.5% on 28% decline in earnings from Statoil. The company realized 11% lower price for oil and 14% lower price for gas sold in international markets. Drug stocks in the region fell led by 2% decline in GlaxoSmithKline and 1% loss in Roche. Associated British Foods agreed to buy U.K. based Pathak, spice maker, for nearly $400 million. China linked stocks Bulgari, LVMH and other luxury retailer declined. British Energy 6% on the news that the UK government will sell 400 million shares to pay for the closure of nuclear reactor. Air Berlin, third largest discount carrier in Europe fell on higher than expected loss. Solarworld AG rose for the second day adding 3% to the previous 5% gain on takeover speculation.

Latin American Markets closed higher after falling sharply on the worries that China slowdown may impact commodities import from the region. After the release of the FOMC minutes, Mexico closed up 2.2%, Brazil rose 1.6% and Argentina gained 0.6%. In Peru, Lima General Index fell as much as 9.5% but managed close with a loss of 7.6%. Mining companies fell between 2% and 15% in Peruvian trading. Peru is still up 40% for the year leading the region.


1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed in the negative but off earlier lows.

European stock markets closed in the negative after moving off earlier lows. Global markets were weak on Wednesday, as investors reacted to sharp declines in Shanghai, sparked by tripling of taxes on stock trades.

Among the most notable decliners, British Energy dropped 3.7%. Shares of pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline recovered in the afternoon to close down 0.54%. In France, shares in manufacturer Vallourec decreased 2.5%. On the positive side, the British software company LogicaCMG rose 3.4% amid reports that private equity firm Permira may be considering a takeover bid.

The euro lost 0.2% against the dollar, buying $1.3419 on data showing consumer confidence in May. The FTSE 100 Index in the U.K. closed down 4.40 points, or 0.7%, at 6,602.10 points. The French CAC 40 fell 14.24 points, or 0.2%, at 6,042.15 points, while Germany’s DAX closed 16.07 points, or 0.21%, lower at 7,764.97 points.


11:30AM Market averages turned narrowly mixed.

U.S. market averages recovered from earlier weakness to trade mixed. Investors shrugged off a heavy sell-off in China, sparked by a tripling of taxes on stock trades. The Dow traded lower, pressured by Merck & Co. (MRK: chart), down 2%, Intel (INTC: chart), down 1.5%, and Pfizer (PFE: chart), falling 1%. Caterpillar (CAT: chart) helped limit losses, posting a gain of 2.9% after rival Joy Global issued an upbeat guidance. In the tech sector, IBM (IBM: chart) advanced 0.6% and Microsoft (MSFT: chart) added 0.3%.

By sector, metals miners traded mixed. Eldorado Gold Corp (EGO: chart) lost 1.8%, while Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX: chart) advanced 2%.Oil services, real estate investment trusts and financials moved to the upside, while semiconductors, telecoms and transportation stocks declined. Energy stocks benefited from an increase by the price of oil. Crude for July delivery added 35 cents to $63.50 a barrel on bargain hunting. Among semiconductor stocks, Marvell Technology (MRVL: chart) dropped 2.5% and Teradyne (TER: chart) lost 1.7%.

Among the most notable gainers, Coldwater Creek (CWTR: chart), women''s apparel and accessories retailer, climbed 15.7% on better-than-expected Q1 earnings. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.17, or 0.02%, at 13,518.17, after falling about 60 points after the open. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 0.28, or 0.02%, to 1,518.39, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 2.46, or 0.10%, to 2,569.60. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.86% from 4.88% late Tuesday.


9:45AM U.S. stocks opened notably down amid Chinese weakness and ahead of Fed’s minutes.

Wall Street saw a weak opening on Wednesday, pressured by steep declines in the Chinese stock market sparked by a tripling of taxes on stock trades. Investors were also awaiting the Fed Reserve''s minutes, expected to indicate a rate cut in the near term, rather than a rate hike. In corporate news, ESpeed Inc. (ESPD: chart), a publicly owned electronic trading house, said it is buying BGC Partners in a $1.3 billion deal. Shares of ESpeed added 1.6%.