[R]9:45AM U.S. stocks opened notably down amid Chinese weakness and ahead of Fed’s minutes.[/R]

Wall Street saw a weak opening on Wednesday, pressured by steep declines in the Chinese stock market sparked by a tripling of taxes on stock trades. Investors were also awaiting the Fed Reserve's minutes, expected to indicate a rate cut in the near term, rather than a rate hike. In corporate news, ESpeed Inc. (ESPD: chart), a publicly owned electronic trading house, said it is buying BGC Partners in a $1.3 billion deal. Shares of ESpeed added 1.6%.

On the earnings news front, women's clothing and accessories retailer Coldwater Creek (CTWR: chart) climbed 14% after reporting 4% increase in Q1 profit, lifted by strong demand for spring clothing. Coldwater Creek earned $12 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with $11.6 million, or 12 cents per share a year ago, beating estimates of 8 cents a share. Revenue surged 31% to $281.3 million. Bookseller Borders Group dropped 4.3% after it reported a wider Q1 loss, citing weaker sales.

AT&T (T: chart) led the telecom sector higher, posting a gain of 0.7%. At the same time, Qualcomm (QCOM: chart) fell 2% and Alcatel-Lucent (ALU: chart) dropped 1.4% as shares of most equipment vendors moved lower. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.93, or 0.29%, to 13,482.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 4.06, or 0.27%, at 1,514.05, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 12.30, or 0.48%, to 2,559.76. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.85% from 4.88% late Tuesday.


[R]9:30AM FTSE 100 trades lower in mid-day trading Wednesday on concerns relating to China.[/R]

In London, in mid-day trading, the benchmark index FTSE 100 was down by 1% at 6,543.8.

Advancers

There are very few advancers in mid-day trading on Wednesday. Shares in the tobacco sector and real estate are in demand. Imperial Tobacco advanced 1.8%, Land Securities is up 1.6% and British Land is 0.9% higher.

Decliners

Stocks trading without the latest dividend rights lead the decliners. Resolution fell 3.1%, while Associated British Foods gave up 1.6% and Marks & Spencer was down 1.4%.

British Energy shares lost 2.5 % after the British government said it planned to sell a 25% stake in the group, reducing its holding in the nuclear power company to around 39%.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline shed 2.5% after Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation on the stock from neutral to sell.

Shares in Investec were down 2.4% after the investment bank agreed to buy specialist mortgage lender Kensington, which slipped 0.2%.


[R]9:00AM U.S. stock futures dropped, reflecting plunge in Chinese market.[/R]

U.S. stock futures moved sharply lower on Wednesday, reflecting a plunge in Chinese stocks and cautiousness ahead of the Fed Reserve''s release of minutes from its latest meeting. The main Shanghai Composite Index dropped 6.5% after Beijing tripled a tax on stock trading. FOMC minutes are expected to indicate a rate cut by the end of the year rather than a rate hike.

In corporate news, International Business Machines (IBM: chart) said it repurchased $12.5 billion of common stock through accelerated share-buyback agreements. IBM said it bought 118.8 million, or 8%, of its shares for an initial price of $105.18 each, under its $15 billion buyback authorization. IBM also said it expects 2007 earnings per share to increase 13% to 14%, up from its previous estimate of 11%. The stock fell 0.5% in pre-market trading. Among other pre-market highlights, Pulte Homes (PHM: chart) said late Tuesday it will cut about 16% of its work force, or about 1,900 jobs.

Coca-Cola (KO: chart) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup. The broker lifted its price target by $9 to $59. In deal news, technology accessory distributor CDW Corp. (CDWC: chart) agreed be bought by a private equity company for $7.3 billion. eSpeed Inc., a publicly owned electronic trading house, said it is buying BGC Partners in a $1.3 billion deal. Dow Jones industrial futures expiring in June fell 63, or 0.47%, to 13,495. Standard & Poor''s 500 index futures fell 7.70, or 0.51%, to 1,514.80. Nasdaq 100 index futures dropped 11.25, or 0.59%, to 1,895.25.