[R]2:00PM NY – 8:00 PM Germany[/R]
Speculation on U.S. economic growth and on Chinese Central Bank’s diversification plan away from the U.S. dollar drove the dollar to the lowest level against euro since April 2005.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.537% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.618%.

Gold increased $10.10 to close at $645.50 a troy ounce, silver advanced 39.7 cents to end at $13.625 a troy ounce and copper gained 9.15 cents to close at 322.75 cents a pound.

Oil gained 52 cents to close at $59.76 a barrel and heating oil increased 2.65 cents to finish at 169.30 cents a gallon. Gasoline was up 0.82 cents to end at 159.70 cents a gallon. Natural gas advanced 17.3 cents to close at $7.891 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed mostly lower led by Japan with a decline of 1.13%, Singapore with a decrease of 0.83% and Thailand with a loss of 0.69%. The advancers were led by Malaysia with a gain of 1.33%, South Korea with an advance of 0.18% and India with an increase of 0.16%. Japan''s Stocks declined on weakness in exporters.

European markets closed lower after the dollar reached its lowest level against the euro since April a year earlier. The decliners were led by Spain with a decrease of 1.37%, Germany with a loss of 0.98% and France with a decline of 0.65%. The only advancer was Norway with a gain of 0.04%.

Other America markets ended higher led by Mexico with an advance of 0.20%, Canada with an increase of 0.08% and Argentina with a gain of 0.07%. The only decliner was Brazil with a loss of 0.47%.

[R]1:00PM European markets slipped as weak dollar hurt exporter issues.[/R]
European stock markets ended lower for the third consecutive session after the U.S. dollar tumbled to its lowest level against the euro since April 2005. Euro broke through $1.30 and the British pound also rallied against the greenback. Consequently, exporter-related issues declined, with Siemens, Nestle, and BASF each falling 1%. However, deal talk provided a boost for certain shares. The French oil-services group Technip jumped 7.6% on news that Eni may bid for it. Remy Cointreau extended recent gains on speculation it may be bought following a decision to leave a distribution joint venture. Shares of the company rose 3.6%. Shares of champagne maker Laurent-Perrier rose 1.3% after it said first-half net income rose 47%. The German DAX 30 slipped 1%, followed by the French CAC 40, down 0.7%, and London FTSE 100, down 0.3%.

Crude oil prices advanced amid weak dollar and a disruption to supply in Nigeria. Crude oil December contract rose 70 cents to $59.94 a barrel. London Brent climbed 76 cents to $60.11. The U.S. dollar sharply dropped against its rival currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.3092, up from $1.2952. The dollar bought 115.81 yen, down from 116.17.The British pound was quoted at $1.9314, up from $1.9155. European gold prices advanced on the back of weak dollar. In London, gold traded at $638.20 per troy ounce, up from $630.30. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $638.05 per ounce, up from $630.45. Silver closed at $13.38, up from $13.09.


[R]11:30AM Retail stock traded lower on Black Friday.[/R]
A steep drop of the U.S. dollar kept stocks under pressure Friday, as it heightened inflation worries and diminished the appeal of U.S. shares. The dollar fell on concerns about central banks'' diversifying their reserves and the greenback''s narrowing yield advantage over other currencies.

Retail stocks declined on Black Friday as the sector''s main measure dropped into the red in early trading. Family Dollar (FDO: chart) fell 1.6% after the discount retailer said it won''t file its annual report by the Friday extended deadline, citing its continuing investigation into stock options. Shares in Target Corp. (TGT: chart) lost about 1%, while Sears Holding (SHLD: chart) inched up 0.4%. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) also moved slightly down. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 15.30, or 0.12%, at 12,311.65. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 1.30, or 0.09%, at 1,404.79, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.69, or 0.07%, at 2,467.67. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.53% from 4.56% late Wednesday.


[R]10:30AM The Sensex finishes the day slightly higher on buying in large-caps.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished on Friday with 22.50-point gain, or 0.16%, at 13,703.33. The market-breadth was positive throughout as small-cap and mid-cap stocks also benefitted from the rally. As 1,336 shares advanced on BSE, 1,195 declined and 88 remained unchanged. Among the 30-Sensex stocks, 18 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,213 crore, lifted by four block deals of 15.30 lakh shares each, executed in HDFC in opening trade at an average Rs 1,662 per share. Yesterday the turnover was Rs 5,531.48 crore. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8194.92, lower than Rs 8,884.68 crore.

Economic news

The wholesale price index in India rose 5.29% in the 12 months to Nov. 11, marginally lower than the previous week annual increase of 5.30% due to lower energy and milk prices, data showed on Friday. The figure was lower than a forecast of 5.32%.

Most active stocks

HDFC was the top traded stock on BSE, with a total turnover of Rs 1,021.86 crore, followed by Siemens, Bombay Dyei and Tata Steel.

Advancers

NTPC led the gainers, up 5.64% to Rs 149.95, on a high volume of 26.05 lakh shares. It struck a new 52-week high of Rs 150.70 following strong demand. As per grapevine, the company will benefit the most if the Indo-US nuclear deal finally sees the light of day. Pharma large-cap Dr Reddy’s advanced 2.53% to Rs 756, while Hindustan Lever was up 1.02% at Rs 243.10.