[R]4:00PM Stocks remained mixed in late trading as investors were cautious to embrace the upbeat results from IBM and Citigroup.[/R]
Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.775% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.867%.

Gold increased $7.90 to close at $636.00 a troy ounce, silver gained 24 cents to end at $12.925 a troy ounce and copper went up 3.60 cents to close at 252.80 cents per pound.

Oil increased $1.490 to close at $51.970 a barrel and heating oil advanced 4.530 cents to finish at 151.600 cents a gallon. Natural gas gained 55.8 cents to close at $6.882 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 4.25 cents to end at 139.780 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mixed with indexes in Japan and South Korea losing ground as tech shares fell back in parallel with declines in tech stocks on Wall Street. The advancers were led by Indonesia with a gain of 1.00%, Thailand with an increase of 0.50% and Singapore with an advance of 0.37%. The decliners were led by South Korea with a decrease of 1.64%, Taiwan with a decline of 0.70% and Japan with a loss of 0.35%. Australia gained 0.02%.

European markets finished higher helped by auto and construction stocks. The advancers were led by France with an increase of 1.07%, Spain with a gain of 0.93% and Germany with an advance of 0.86%. There were no decliners.

Latin America markets ended higher with energy stocks enjoying higher oil prices for a change. The advancers were led by Brazil with a gain of 2.22%, Argentina with an increase of 0.63% and Mexico with an advance of 0.62%. There were no decliners. Canada advanced 0.66%.

[R]1:00PM European markets closed notably higher, helped by auto and construction stocks.[/R]

European stocks finished notably higher, as strength posted by construction stocks Vinci and Saint Gobain, as well as solid gains for DaimlerChrysler helped lead a broad market rally. Vinci shares rose 6.4% after the investment vehicle of French billionaire Francois Pinault took a 5.1% stake in the company, prompting speculation of more stake buying to come. Saint Gobain shares rose 3.7% after Credit Suisse upgraded the company to outperform from neutral. The auto sector also contributed to the gains. Shares of DaimlerChrysler rose 4% after it was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, while Fiat rose 4.2% after the Italian car maker was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. Renault shares gained 2% in Paris. Steelmakers were also in focus, with shares in ThyssenKrupp down 0.9% after recent strong gains. ThyssenKrupp''''s Anglo-Dutch peer Corus Group rose 1.4%, following a report that it may get an increased bid of 600 pence a share from India''s Tata Steel. Elsewhere, Deutsche Boerse rose 5% after a report that the company is considering splitting management into three divisions in a move that could lead to a break-up of the company. The French CAC-40 rose 1.1%, the German DAX 30 index gained 0.9%, while the U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.4%.

Crude oil prices rebounded from recent declines. Benchmark light, sweet crude rose $1.25 to $51.73 a barrel. Heating oil added 4 cents to $1.5110 a gallon, while gasoline gained 4 cents to $1.3945. Natural gas rose 54 cents to $6.867 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 66 cents to $52.41. The U.S. dollar traded higher against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.2932, down from $1.2959. The dollar bought 121.42 yen, up from 121.26. The British pound was quoted at $1.9717, down from $1.9733. European gold prices were mixed. In London, gold traded at $632 per troy ounce, down from $632.95. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $630.15 per ounce, down from $631.35. Silver closed at $12.79, up from $12.74.


[R]11:30AM Market averages moved slightly higher, helped by JDSU.[/R]
Stock markets posted modest gains, as positive sales outlook from JDSU sent the tech communications firm 10% higher, helping to offset downbeat forecasts from blue chip stocks IBM (IBM: chart) and GE (GE: chart). Investors found some relief from news that communications and optical products company JDSU (JDSU: chart) lifted its Q2 sales forecasts. Shares of JDSU surged 10% and were amongst the most actively traded on the Nasdaq. Shares of the Dow components slipped 3.7% and 2% respectively. Among other companies releasing quarterly earnings, Citigroup (C: chart) fell 0.6% after posting a 26% drop in Q4 profit.

Following its early January warning, Motorola (MOT: chart) posted a 48% drop in Q4 profit as margins in its handset business collapsed. The company also said it would cut 3,500 jobs. However, the stock rose 3.5%. Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB: chart) rose 4.5% after the oil services group reported a better-than-forecast 71% profit rise. By sector, semiconductors were among the biggest gainers of the session. Oil and natural gas stocks also moved notably higher. Energy stocks rebounded as crude oil prices showed signs of stabilization. Shares in oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM: chart) rose 1.7%. At the same time, computer technology and technology hardware remained below the flat line. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.53, or 0.04%, at 12,573.46. The Standard & Poor''''s 500 index was up 4.21, or 0.30%, at 1,430.58, and the Nasdaq was up 6.98, or 0.29%, at 2,450.19. Bonds fell as stocks tried to further their gains. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.78% from 4.77% late Thursday.


[R]10:30AM NY-9:30PM Mumbai – The Sensex retreats in volatile trade, Satyam plunges.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished with 35.04 points, or 0.25%, lower at 14,182.71. The market-breadth weakened in later trading as 1,642 shares declined, 1,030 advanced and 41 remained unchanged on BSE. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 19 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,126 crore, lower than Rs 5,053 crore on Thursday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 9,053.77 crore, compared to Rs 10,178.12 on Thursday.

Economic news

Wholesale prices-based inflation crossed 6% for the first time this fiscal year It surged by 0.54% against 5.58% in the previous week. Prices of common-use items like, some pulses, tea, tomatoes and coconut, are causing concern, as well as prices of some manufactured items like steel products and edible oil which have risen too.

Trading highlights

Satyam Computer Services Ltd posted a 25% increase in Q3 profit but it missed forecasts and cut full-year sales estimate on a firmer rupee. Consolidated net profit for October-December rose to Rs 337.23 crore for Q3 of this fiscal year from 2.70 billion a year earlier.

Tech Mahindra was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 335.20 crore followed by Reliance and Satyam.

Advancers

Reliance Communications led the advancers, up 3.11% to Rs 449.90, on a volume of 14.79 lakh shares, rebounding from a low of Rs 431, also hitting a high of Rs 450. Gujarat Ambuja Cements gained 2.24% to Rs 148.50, expecting strong results from the company. Cigarette maker ITC added 1.77% to Rs 175.