[R]9:45AM U.S. markets opened lower ahead of FOMC minutes.[/R]
U.S. stock markets opened in the negative, as cautiousness ahead of a speech by Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke and the release of the FOMC minutes offset the positive sentiment, generated by upbeat earnings from Alcoa and job cuts at Citigroup. Alcoa (AA: chart) shares rose 1.4% after it posted a 9% rise in Q1 profits and an upbeat outlook for the year. Aluminum Corp. of China (ACH: chart) climbed 5.9% in early trading. Citigroup (C: chart) lost 1% after it announced plans to reduce 17,000 jobs worldwide. Among notable movers, Biolase Technology, (BLTI: chart), dental and cosmetic laser maker, warned it will post a Q1 loss and lower-than-expected revenue. Company''s shares tumbled 24%. American Medical (AMMD: chart) dropped 13.3% after the company said it will miss its Q1 revenue forecast due to supply chain problems.

Retail companies attracted some attention, as some of them reported sales figures on Wednesay morning. Target (TGT: chart) posted 12% increase in March same-store sales, in line with previous estimates. The retailer added April same-store sales are expected to drop 2% to 4%. The stock lost 0.7%. Chico''s FAS Inc. (CHS: chart) rose 4.6% after it said that comparable sales rose 5.2% in March compared with the year-ago period. Total sales for the five-week period ended April 7 increased 22%. Most retailers are due to release their March sales data on Thursday morning. Retailers are generally expecting strong growth in same-store sales, helped by earlier Easter and warmer-than-normal weather in parts of March. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: chart) projected that same-store sales for the period would be up 1% to 2%. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrials fell 20.64, or 0.16%, to 12,553.21. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index slipped 2.51, or 0.17%, to 1,445.88, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.35, or 0.26%, to 2,471.26. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remained flat at 4.72% from late Tuesday.


[R]9:30AM London equities traded higher on Wednesday on M&A talks[/R]
The UK market was higher on Wednesday. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 was 0.2 5 higher at 6,432.6, an advance of 15 points.

Advancers

Retailers were at the centre of activity on fresh speculation that Marks & Spencer could be the next target of a bid from private equity. Shares in the company were 3.1% stronger. The plans of Xstrata to sell its aluminium operations for $1.2 billion sent shares in the miner 2.3% higher. Royal Dutch Shell added 0.7% after it announced it would settle legal claims from investors outside the US about its oil reserves restatement controversy in 2004.

Decliners

On the downside, five large-cap constituents traded ex-dividend, taking around 3 points off the senior index. Friends Provident lost 3% and Prudential fell 1.3%. Hammerson was 2.4% weaker, Kazakhmys was 3.7% softer and BG Group was 0.2% lower. Water utility Kelda fell 1.5% after HSBC reduced the bank price target on the stock.


[R]9:15AM Asian markets advanced on Wednesday with Japan leading the markets higher.[/R]
Asian markets finished higher on Wednesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 5.38 points, or 0.03%, to finish at 17,670.07. Advancers included Canon, gaining 1.07% and Eisai, rising 0.51%. TDK also rose 1.8% on a report Wednesday that the electronic-parts maker is likely to have released a record group net profit for the year ended March.

The Hang Seng Index also gained 101.56 points, or 0.5%, to 20,449.43. Large-cap HSBC added 0.4% as fears of U.S. subprime exposure were allayed. China Mobile advanced 0.4% after JP Morgan recommended in a research note that investors should buy China Mobile on strong fundamentals and take profits on China Unicom. China Unicom fell 0.7%.

South Korean shares advanced to a record high led by LG.Philips LCD. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.26 points, or 1%, to 1,513.42. LG.Philips LCD surged 8.2% on hopes for better earnings in the second quarter. Other technology stocks also advanced including Samsung Electronics, the largest corporation of South Korea, which rose 3.6%.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both Class A and Class B shares, closed up 1.5% at 3,495.22. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.1% to 928.28, its eighth-consecutive record finish. Among large-caps, China Vanke gained 6.6% and China Merchants Bank jumped 6.3%.

Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan gained, boosted by a strong showing in electronic stocks. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange gained 22.85, or 0.3%, to close at 8,071.24.


[R]9:00AM Alcoa earnings lead market to higher opening.[/R]
Wall Street looked poised for higher opening on Wednesday before the release of last FOMC minutes. The pre-market sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected quarterly figures released by Alcoa and cost-reduction moves by Citigroup. Shares of Alcoa (AA: chart) rose 2.2% in pre-open trading after the Dow industrials component kicked off Q1 earnings season by exceeding earnings and revenue forecasts. The aluminum producer posted earnings of 79 cents a share on $7.9 revenue increase, topping expectations of earnings of 76 cents a share and revenue of $7.6 billion. Other companies due to report Q1 results today include Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY: chart), biotech Genentech (DNA: chart) and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM: chart).

Chevron (CVX: chart) said it expects results in the quarter to benefit from a $700 million gain on the sale of its interest in manufacturing assets in the Netherlands. Again on the Dow, Citigroup (C: chart) added 0.9% after the financial services giant said it will cut 17,000 of its global workforce in an attempt to save $4.6 billion a year by 2009. In corporate news, the Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ: chart) is reportedly in talks to buy Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Costco Wholesale (COST: chart) lifted its quarterly dividend 12% to 14.5 cents a share. S&P 500 futures rose 1.30 points to 1,457.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures improved 3.50 points to 1,833.00. Dow industrial futures rose 18 points to 12,650.


[R]8:30AM Citigroup said it will cut 17,000 jobs.[/R]
Citigroup (C: chart), the U.S. biggest financial institution, announced Wednesday it will reduce its work force by about 17,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan aiming at lower costs and improved profit. The job cuts correspond to about 5% of the bank''s 327,000-strong work force. The anticipated changes include elimination of layers of management, expanding centralized procurement, consolidation of some back-office, middle-office and corporate functions to eliminate duplication. The bank said in a statement that the overhaul will save the bank about $2.1 billion in 2007, $3.7 billion in 2008 and $4.6 billion in 2009. Citigroup expects to record a pretax charge of $1.38 billion in Q1 of 2007, and additional charges of nearly $200 million pretax over the subsequent quarters of 2007. The bank is due to report its Q1 earnings next week.