4:00PM Nasdaq was the only gainer in late trading due to higher earnings in tech stocks.

-Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.94% and 30-year bond closed at 5.05%.
-Crude oil gained 4 cents to close at $76.35.
-Gold gained $4.60 to close at $655.50.

-Asian Markets were mixed, being led by Hong Kong which closed ahead at 1.75%. Japan gained 1.24%. Pakistan lost 1.60%.

-European Markets closed ahead, led by France which gained 1.15%, and Switzerland which gained 1.15%. Norway declined 0.64%.

-Latin American Markets were mixed, led by a 0.77% gain in Chile. Mexico lost 0.83%.


12:30PM European markets closed sharply higher.
European markets finished volatile Wednesday session steeply higher. Gains on Wall Street following better-than-expected quarterly results by Cisco, as well as strength in the tech and automotive sectors helped offset disappointing results from Commerzbank, KarstadtQuelle, and Swisscom. French telecom-equipment maker Alcatel rose 2.8%, and automaker Volkswagen gained 3.2% to boost market sentiment. Adidas also supported, rising 2.7% on 24% profit increase and 60% revenue growth in Q2. The French CAC 40 led European gainers, climbing 1.2%, followed by the German DAX 30, up 0.9%, and London FTSE 100, up 0.7%.

Oil prices climbed above $77 on growing demand and weaker crude and gasoline inventories. Light crude September delivery rose 84 cents to $77.15 a barrel. Gasoline was unchanged at $2.225 a gallon, while heating oil gained 3 cents to $2.1470. Natural gas climbed 45 cents to $7.65 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent surged 77 cents to $78.32. The dollar traded mixed versus major currencies. The euro traded at $1.2880, up from $1.2843. The dollar bought 115.16 yen, up from 115.08. The British pound stood at $1.9086, up from $1.9079. European gold prices advanced. In London the precious metal traded at $652.90, up from $644.38 per ounce. In Zurich gold traded at $651.95, up from $644.78. Silver closed at $12.52, up from $12.18.


11:30AM Weaker housing and airline stocks helped limit gains.
Stocks traded in the positive in late morning trading as stronger-than-expected quarterly results from major companies like Cisco (CSCO: chart) and Walt Disney (DIS: chart) generated buying interest. Cisco contributed to a considerable strength in the tech sector and the Nasdaq, providing an upbeat outlook. Still, the three major averages came well off their best levels for the session, reflecting weakness in the airline and housing sectors. An increase by the price of oil also made some traders reluctant to continue buying stocks. In late morning trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 20.96, or 1.02%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 7.25, or 0.57%, and the Dow Jones industrial average added 34.41, or 0.32%. Bonds fell in response to the Fed decision, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.95% from 4.92% late Tuesday.


Crude oil and gasoline inventories declined.
Crude oil inventories declined again in the most recent week, according to government statistics released Wednesday. Gasoline stockpiles fell sharply as well. In addition, inventories of distillate fuel oil edged lower, breaking a recent streak of gains. The Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories fell 1.1 million barrels in the week ended August 4. Specifically, the measure dropped to 332.6 million barrels from the previous week''s level of 333.7 million barrels. This followed a decline of 1.8 million barrels in the previous week. Oil inventories for the August 4 week were 4.3% higher than last year. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories showed a week-over-week decline of 3.2 million barrels. This followed a draw down of 100,000 barrels in the previous week. The level of gasoline inventories was 0.8% above last year. Distillate fuel oil had an inventory decline of 200,000 barrels during the week. This ended a recent streak of gains, which included an advance of 700,000 barrels in the previous week.


10:30AM India rallies on Fed move and strong Asian markets.
The Sensex in India advanced 130.21 points or 1.1% to close at 11,145.18. The turnover on BSE was Rs 2,889 crore higher than Tuesday’s Rs 2,142 crore. The market breadth was strong. with 1,653 shares that rose and 750 that declined. Only 84 shares were unchanged. Among the Sensex constituents, there were 25 advances to five declines.

PSU bank shares soared on expectations that domestic interest rates will not increase at least in the short term. Bank of India surged 7% to Rs 127.70, Union Bank of India gained 6% to Rs 112.90, Syndicate Bank rose 5.4% to Rs 69.30, Indian Overseas Bank advanced 3.6% to Rs 91.95, Oriental Bank of Commerce moved up 3.6% to Rs 179.50 and Canara Bank climbed 2.8% to Rs 205.50. State Bank of India added 4.6% to Rs 870 after Japanese investment firm SBI Holdings agreed to form a $100 million venture capital fund with India''''s largest lender.

Metal shares were in focus. National Aluminium Company gained 3.8% to Rs 202, Hindalco advanced 2.7% to Rs 164.75 and Sterlite Industries gained 2% to Rs 382.70. Steel large-cap Tata Steel rose 1.3% to Rs 518. IT stocks advanced on renewed buying. Satyam Computer gained 2.8% to Rs 764.50, TCS rose 1.3% to Rs 968, Infosys edged up 1.2% to Rs 1704, and Wipro rose 1.1% to Rs 507.50. Engineering & construction company L&T rose 1.7% to Rs 2,325 on a strong order-book. Cigarette large-cap ITC rose 3.8% to Rs 179 on 15.6 lakh shares were traded on BSE.

Auto shares neglected high oil prices, supported by strong sales for July, and on expectations of strong sales in the current festival season. Tata Motors jumped 4% to Rs 797.50, Mahindra & Mahindra gained 2.2% to Rs 613.05, Ashok Leyland advanced 1.4% to Rs 37.45, and car producer Maruti Udyog gained 1.4% to Rs 798. Hero Honda rose 1.6% to Rs 679 after the company said it will spend Rs 1,900 crore to set up a new plant in Uttaranchal. ONGC gained 1.3% to Rs 1,205 after the company said on Tuesday that it will set up a petrochemical complex with an investment of Rs 13,600 crore ($2.9 billion) by 2010.

Index large-cap Reliance Industries rose 0.7%, to Rs 985. Reliance Industries said on Tuesday it had shut some plants at the Hazira complex because of flooding in adjoining areas. BHEL, moving up 0.8% to Rs 2184, recovered after an initial fall in the stock caused by the indecision of the board on bonus issue and stock-split proposals. Hindustan Oil Exploration jumped 16% to Rs 135.85 after the company set a rights issue price of Rs 76 per share. The shareholders of the company will get a share for every three already held. Aventis Pharma rose 5.7% to Rs 1,400. Data showed a block deal of 1,72,883 shares was made on the BSE at Rs 1,350 per share.


9:45AM Stocks opened higher on Cisco’s quarterly results.
Better-than-expected earnings from Cisco Systems Inc. and the Walt Disney Co., as well as easing concerns over interest rates after the Fed decided to pause, raised investor optimism and boosted stocks in early trading.