4:00PM NY; 10:00PM Frankfurt; 1:30AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS

Averages in New York trading fell sharply on the release of minutes of Fed meeting in March. The Fed noted that the prevailing level of inflation remained uncomfortably high. With the release of the minutes the averages fell nearly 1%. European markets closed lower ahead of the Fed minutes of meeting and lowered global growth projection by IMF. Weekly report of U.S. crude oil inventory showed a decline in inventory for gasoline and slight increase in crude oil and distillate inventories

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.726% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.912%.

Gold advanced 20 cents to close at $681.700 a troy ounce, silver decreased 4 cents to end at $13.890 a troy ounce and copper gained $373.000 to close at $7760.000 per metric ton.

Oil gained 12 cents to close at $62.010 a barrel and heating oil advanced 1.860 cents to finish at 187.470 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 1.4 cents to close at $7.855 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 3.060 cents to end at 215.360 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mostly higher with bargain-hunting fueling gains in Japan, while upbeat earnings expectations pushed South Korea''s benchmark index to a record high. The advancers were led by South Korea with a gain of 0.95%, Thailand with an increase of 0.82% and Hong Kong with an advance of 0.50%. The decliners were led by Philippines with a decline of 0.31%, Singapore with a decrease of 0.06% and India with a loss of 0.05%.

European markets finished lower on taking a cue from U.S. markets under pressure after the IMF lowered its global growth forecasts and investors waited for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The decliners were led by Netherlands with a decline of 0.38%, France and Norway both with a loss of 0.25% and Italy with a decrease of 0.20%. There were no advancers.

Latin America markets finished lower. The declines were led by Mexico with a decline of 0.80%, Brazil with a loss of 0.64% and Argentina with a decrease of 0.51%. There were no advancers. Canada lost 0.20% with small gains in the energy group and declines in the mining and technology sectors.

2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Benihana Inc. (BNHN: chart), which operates a chain of Japanese and sushi restaurants, said its same-store sales climbed 5.8% in its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended April 1. The chain said total restaurant sales rose 17.2% to $71.3 million from $60.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Benihana said $5.5 million of its sales came from an additional week in the quarter. Temporary closures related to renovations hurt sales by $3.2 million in the quarter, according to the company. Shares climbed 5.9%.

Cell Therapeutics Inc. (CTIC: chart) shares jumped 14.7% after the company received """"fast track"""" designation from the Food and Drug Administration for the company''s Xyotax drug, a treatment of certain types of non-small cell lung cancer in certain women.

Chico''s FAS Inc. (CHS: chart) shares climbed 7% after the clothing retailer posted solid March same-store sales. For the five weeks ended April 7, the Chico''s posted an increase of 5.2% in same-store sales and a 22% jump in total sales. Total sales rose to $191.2 million from $156.8 million a year ago.

Manor Care (HCR: chart) Shares hit 8.9% after the operator of nursing homes and rehabilitation centers announced it hired JPMorgan as its exclusive financial adviser to explore strategic alternatives. Manor Care booked 2006 revenue of $3.61 billion and net income of $167.1 million.

Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO: chart) shares climbed 10.5% after the retail farm and ranch store chain put first-quarter results above expectations and boosted its full-year guidance. The company sees first-quarter earnings of $4 million to $5.1 million, or 10 cents to 12 cents a share. The company said that revenue came in at $559.8 million. Looking ahead, Tractor Supply now sees full-year earnings of $2.49 to $2.56 a share, up from an earlier view of $2.45 to $2.52 a share. It now projects revenue of $2.7 billion to $2.75 billion, up slightly from an earlier forecast of $2.7 billion to $2.74 billion.

Tvia Inc. (TVIA: chart) shares fell 5% after the chipmaker said that its audit committee had undertaken a review of stock option grant practices and related matters since the company''s initial public offering in 2000. Tvia said its review of the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years ended March 31 preliminarily determined that affected periods may extend beyond those originally indicated.

American Medical Systems (AMMD: chart), medical device maker, shares fell 14.7% after the company said it will miss its first-quarter revenue forecast due to supply chain problems. The company said it would not meet its forecast of $113 million to $118 million in sales due to """"vendor quality issues"""" and inventory shortages for several key products, including items related to female incontinence. American Medical Systems now expects $108.4 million in revenue and earnings of 5 cents to 7 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31.

Biolase Technology Inc. (BLTI: chart), dental and cosmetic laser maker, warned it will post a first-quarter loss and lower-than-expected revenue. The company sees sales for the period ended March 31 coming in between $14.5 million and $15 million. In the fourth quarter, Biolase posted a $1 million profit and revenue of $19.8 million. Shares fell 16.7%.

Cell Genesys (CEGE: chart), biotechnology company, said that it is selling 10.8 million shares of its common stock and warrants to buy 2.2 million shares through a registered direct offering. Proceeds are seen at $60 million, prior to deducting offering fees and expenses. Shares fell 12%.

Checkfree (CKFR: chart) shares sank 6.3% after an analyst downgraded the electronic payments processor, saying it may lose part of a major contract from its largest client, Bank of America Corp. JMP Securities analyst David Scharf downgraded CheckFree to """"market outperform"""" from """"strong buy"""" and cut his price target to $42 from $48. Profit for CheckFree totaled $127 million, or $1.36 per share, for the year ended June 30. Profit from continuing operations totaled $1.29 per share.

E-Z-Em Inc. (EZEM: chart), which makes gastrointestinal radiology products, said that its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 45% on tough comparisons to a prior-year quarter boosted by one-time gains and discontinued operations. For the quarter the company posted a profit of $2.4 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a profit of $4.3 million, or 39 cents per share, for the same quarter in fiscal 2006. Earnings from continuing operations fell to $2.2 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $2.4 million, or 21 cents per share, for the prior-year period. Revenue rose 4.6% to $33.6 million from $32.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Shares fell 9.5%.