4:00PM New York, 10:00PM Frankfurt, 8:00AM Sydney

Global Markets Indexes

Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.28 or 0.17% to a close of 13,311.72, S&P 500 increased 0.05% or 0.77 to 1,469.72, and Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.22 or 0.20% to a close of 2,668.13. In Toronto TSX Composite increased 31.74 or 0.23% to close at 13,663.89.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average, 18 closed higher, 11 closed lower, and one was unchanged.

Altria led the gainers in the index with a rise of 2.6% followed by increases in AT&T of 1.4%, in General Motors of 1.37%, and in Alcoa of 0.94%. Home Depot led the decliners in the index with a loss of 1.4% followed by losses in Honeywell of 1.26%, in American Express of 0.91%.

Of the stocks in S&P 500, 210 closed higher, 283 fell, and 7 were unchanged. Eighteen stocks fell 3% or more and thirteen stocks rose more than 3%.

Countrywide Financial led the gainers with a rise of 6.7% followed by increases in MGIC of 6.1%, in Dillard of 5.9%, and in Ambac of 4.98%. Sears Holdings led the decliners in the index with a fall of 11% followed by losses in E*Trade of 8.7%, in CIT Group 8.5% of 8.4%, in Principal Financial of 8%, in Lehman Brothers of 4.9%, and in C B Richard Ellis of 4.3%.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed up 42.90 or 0.68% to 6,349.10, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 36.90 or 0.66% to close at 5,598.11, and in Frankfurt DAX index advanced 41.53 or 0.54% to close at 7,765.19. In Zurich trading SMI rebounded 83.65 or 0.97% to close at 8,734.47.

In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index gained 359.96 or 2.38% to close at 15,513.74, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index closed up 1,111.30 or 4.06% to 28,482.54, in Australia ASX 200 closed up 74.40 or 1.17% to close 6,444.50.

In South Korea Kospi Index increased 42.87 or 2.34% to close at 1,877.56, Thailand closed up 24.28 or 2.96% to 844.80, and Indonesia edged higher 27.92 or 1.05% to 2,699.82. India gained 64.39 or 0.34% to 19,003.26.

In Latin Markets Mexico led the gainers with a rise of 4.19% followed by increases in Brazil of 3.84%, in Argentina of 2.8%, in Chile of 3.4%, and in Peru of 2.2%. Venezuela jumped 1.7% and Colombia closed nearly unchanged.

Bond Yields edged higher on 10-year U.S. bonds to 3.93% and 30-year bonds increased to 4.34%.

Commodities, Metals, and Currencies

Crude oil increased $0.39 to close at $91.01 per barrel for a front month contract, up 42.00% for the year, natural gas decreased 3 cents to $7.45 per mBtu, and gasoline futures decreased 8.90 cents to close at 228.39 cents per gallon.

Gold edged lower $5.00 in New York trading to close at $802.30 per ounce, silver closed down 8 cents to $14.445 per ounce, and copper for front month delivery increased 6.00 cents to 309.40 cents per pound and in London trading closed up $104.00 to $6,682.50.

Dollar edged higher against euro to $1.4747 and lower to 109.930 yen.


11:00AM New York – U.S. stocks declined at the opening after a two day rally that lifted most indexes 4%.

U.S. market averages opened lower after two rally that lifted major averages more than 4%. Dow Jones fell 19 to 13,271, Nasdaq declined 2 to 2,660, and S&P 500 lost 3 to 1,465.

The Commerce Department reported revised third quarter GDP growth rate to 4.9% from 3.9%. The revised rate of growth was the fastest since 7.5% growth in the third quarter of 2003. In another report, The Labor Department reported initial claims at the end of the last week jumped 23,000 to 325,000.

Sears Holdings (SHLD: chart) reported a sharp decline of fiscal third quarter profit on lower than expected same store sales and weaker margins in apparel and electronics. Sears stock declined 15%.