[R]11:30AM Market traded lower ahead of Q4 earnings reports.[/R]
Stock averages traded down in late morning on cautiousness ahead of Q4 earnings and volatile crude oil prices. Initially, oil rebounded with a surge of more than $1 a barrel, but later dropped back down below the $56. A brokerage downgrade of Wal-Mart Stores and profit warnings also pressured stocks, offsetting the positive influence of merger-and-acquisition activity. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs, with the broker cutting its price target to $51 from $53. Shares of the retailer lost 0.6%. Molex (MOLX: chart) fell 3.9%, while Schnitzer (SCHN: chart) dropped 6.4% as the manufacturers warned quarterly profits might be disappointing. At the same time, RadioShack Corp. (RSH: chart) rose 11% after saying its Q4 profit will beat year-earlier levels.

In corporate deals in the energy sector, Forest Oil Corp. (FST: chart) rose 3.2% after it said it will buy Houston Exploration Co. (THX: chart) for about $1.5 billion in stock and cash. Houston Exploration jumped 4.5%. Elsewher, Apple Computer (AAPL: chart) rose 1.1% after JPMorgan reiterated an overweight rating on the iPod maker, and boosted its Q1 profit projections. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.18, or 0.36% to 12,352.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.82, or 0.27%, at 1,405.89, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 3.53, or 0.15%, to 2,430.72. Bond prices dipped in the absence of any market-moving news, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.66% from 4.65% late Friday.


[R]10:30 AM NY – 9:30 PM Mumbai The Sensex sheds 208 points on large-cap sell-off.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 208 points, or 1.5% lower at 13,652.15. Despite sharp fall in indexes, market-breadth was strong with 1,731 shares advancing on BSE, 929 declining and 45 shares remaining unchanged. For every three advancers there were two decliners. The turnover on BSE was 3,716 crore, compared to Rs 4,545 crore on Friday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,619.67 crore, lower than Rs 8,771.98 crore.

Economic news

Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone may visit India on January 10. Vodafone is beginning the study of the books of its acquisition target Hutch Essar. India organized retail sector is undergoing a rapid change. The county’s industry based association now projects the retail sales in the organized sector to rise from $7 billion or Rs 35,000 crores in 2005 to $21 billion or Rs 100,000 in 2010. Several regional chains have been recently acquired by larger conglomerates to build a national presence.

In trade today

Infosys led stocks active in trading volume based on market cap with a turnover of Rs 148 crore followed by Pyramid Saimira and Tech Mahindra.

Advancers

ONGC led the few gainers. It advanced 2.5% to Rs 919 on the rise in oil price of 1% to $56.90 a barrel on Monday. Ranbaxy gained 1.2% to Rs 418.80, extending its rally on expectations of strong Q4 December 2006 results. Dr Reddy Lab also gained 0.1% to Rs 810.05 on expectations of strong Q3 December 2006 results.

Decliners

IT shares lost on profit-taking. Infosys shed 3% to Rs 2,205. Satyam Computer shed 3% to Rs 486, while Wipro lost 2.8% to Rs 582. In New York trading ADRs of Satyam fell 3% and Wipro dropped 2.8%.

Car large-cap Maruti Udyog plunged 4% to Rs 896. Bajaj Auto shed 2.6% to Rs 2,709. Tata Motors declined 1% to Rs 923 in volatile trade. Tata Motors ADR dipped 3.4% on Friday to $20.86.

Cement leader ACC lost 3% to Rs 1,022. Reliance Communications was down 2.8% to Rs 434.40 extending its decline of 3.7% from Friday. Hindalco shed 2.4% to Rs 167 and Sterlite Industries dropped 2.4% to Rs 530 on weakness in copper prices.

State Bank of India lost almost 3% to Rs 1,210. State Bank of India announced on Saturday that interest rates on domestic term deposits between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1 crore, will be 8.25% on all maturities of one year and more. ICICI Bank finished flat at Rs 910. ICICI Bank dollar-denominated, three-tranche debt offering was well-received by the market.

Index heavy Reliance Industries lost 1% to Rs 1274.50 on 7.4 lakh shares traded on BSE.


[R]9:45AM Market opened lower amid rising oil prices.[/R]
Wall Street opened lower, as profit-taking ahead of Q4 earnings season and a rebound by oil prices contributed to the negative market mood, offsetting earlier gains made on the back of several merger deals. A barrel of light sweet crude rose $1.31 to $57.62 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil and gas shares opened higher as oil and natural gas prices rose on news that Saudi Arabia will fully implement previously announced production cuts. Copper and gold futures were also rebounding lifting mining shares. Again in the energy sector, General Electric Co. (GE: chart) slightly declined after it agreed to acquire oil and gas fields equipment supplier Vetco Gray for about $1.9 billion.

Tech stocks traded down, although IBM (IBM: chart) added 1.1% after UBS upgraded the stock. In the retail sector, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: chart) fell 0.6% on downgrade at Goldman Sachs. Limited Brands (LTD: chart) also pressured retail stocks, falling 1.2%. However, home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY: chart) rose 2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the company''s stock to buy from neutral.

Drug stocks were mixed as shares of Seattle Genetics (SGEN: chart) surged 23% on news that it entered into a licensing agreement with Genentech (DNA: chart) for its cancer drug candidate SGN-40. In addition, shares of United Surgical Partners (USPI: chart) climbed 13% after the company agreed to be acquired by Welsh Carson for about $1.8 billion. Pharmacy benefit manager Caremark Rx Inc. (CMX: chart) dropped 1.6% as it announced late Sunday it rejected a $26 billion takeover bid from rival Express Scripts Inc. in favor of a $22.2 billion offer from drug store chain CVS Corp. (CVS: chart). In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 37.01, or 0.30%, to 12,351.00. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 2.72, or 0.19%, to 1,406.99, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 5.71, or 0.23%, to 2,428.54.