[R]6:00PM NY – 12:00PM Germany[/R]

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.503% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.594%.

Gold gained $1.30 to close at $645 a troy ounce, silver advanced 4.3 cents to end at $13.855 a troy ounce and copper declined 0.8 cents to close at 316.20 cents per pound.

Oil gained 64 cents to close at $60.96 a barrel and heating oil increased 1.98 cents to finish at 172.50 cents a gallon. Gasoline was up 2.63 cents to end at 162 cents a gallon. Natural gas advanced 30.2 cents to close at $8.30 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed lower led Hong Kong with a loss of 2.94%, Indonesia with a decline of 2.19% and Singapore with a decrease of 1.87%. There were no advancers. Hong Kong stocks ended lower as the blue-chip Hang Seng Index suffering its biggest one-day point and percentage decline in five years and investors sold a broad range of shares.

European markets closed lower led by Switzerland with a loss of 0.65%, Belgium with a decline of 0.51% and both U.K. and Spain with a decrease of 0.40%. The only advancer was Netherlands with a gain of 0.03%. European markets closed lower for weakness in the dollar and profitability concerns surrounding banking group Barclays and mobile-phone giant Nokia depressed sentiment.

Latin America markets closed mostly higher led by Argentina with a gain of 0.81% and Brazil with an advance of 0.31%. The decliner was Mexico with a decrease of 0.39%. Markets in Mexico declined, as investors continued to take profits.

[R]1:00PM European markets slipped as weak dollar weighed on exporter issues.[/R]
European stock markets finished down Tuesday for a fifth straight trading session, as weakness in the U.S dollar continued to weigh on world markets. The greenback extended recent decline after downbeat durable goods data were released. The euro gained 0.1% at $1.3148 while sterling rose 0.5% at $1.9475. Dollar-sensitive stocks like automakers and tech stocks were the most notable decliners. DaimlerChtysler shed 0.7%, while chipmaker Infineon Technologies lost 0.9%. Also in the technology sector, shares in mobile phone maker Nokia slipped 1.8% after the company lowered its operating margin forecast for the next two years. Financial stocks dropped in London, including Barclay, down 1.7% and Old Mutual, down 5.8%. In deal news, shares of German low-cost carrier Air Berlin dropped 13.7% after the airline said it plans to order 60 737-800 jets from Boeing Co. Shares of EMI Group rose 10% after the music-publishing company said it had received a preliminary approach. In other M&A action, Scottish Power agreed to be bought by Spain''s Iberdrola in a deal worth 11.6 billion pounds. Scottish Power shares closed down 0.8%. The German DAX 30 dropped 0.3%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.1%, while London FTSE 100 slipped 0.4%.

Crude oil prices rose to a two-week high on forecasts of considerably colder weather. Crude oil January contract rose 55 cents to $60.87 a barrel. London Brent climbed 66 cents to $61.10. The U.S. dollar was lower against the euro and the pound. The euro was quoted at $1.3151, up from %1.3128. The dollar bought 116.18 yen, up from 116.08. The British pound was quoted at $1.9473, up from $1.9371. European gold prices declined, despite weak dollar. In London, gold traded at $636 per troy ounce, down from $639.90. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $637.05 per ounce, down from $639.95. Silver closed at $13.46, down from $13.50.


[R]11:30AM Upbeat home sales data offset earlier decline.[/R]
Stocks turned flat as data, showing the first gain in existing home sales in eight months, managed to offset losses generated by a sharp decline in durable goods. The report showed that existing home sales rose 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.24 million units in October. Investors paid little attention to an unexpected drop in the consumer confidence. The Conference Board reported that the figure for November fell to 102.9 from a revised reading of 105.1 in October.

In corporate news, Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS: chart), provider of information-technology management services, rose 0.6% after Lehman Brothers raised its rating on the stock, citing the company''s efforts to cut costs. Manitowoc Co. (MTW: chart), maker of construction equipment, fell1.1% after reiterating its earnings 2006 forecast. Nokia (NOK: chart) slipped 1.6% after the world''s largest maker of mobile phones lowered its operating margin forecast for the next two years. Computer hardware stocks posted weakness, ked by Palm (PLM: chart) which fell 6.9% to $14.26 after the company cut its Q2 forecast, citing the delayed U.S. rollout of one of the newest versions of its Treo line of handheld smartphones. On the Nasdaq, shares of Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL: chart) rose 2% after UBS raised its price target on the company. Higher oil prices boosted shares of oil companies, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart), up1.3% and Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart), up 1.6%.

Among companies driven by analyst comments, shares of United Natural Foods (UNF: chart), organic and health foods distributor, fell 3% after Banc of America downgraded its rating on the stock to neutral from buy, citing valuation. Micrel (MCRL: chart) dropped 4.6% after Wachovia downgraded its rating on the semiconductor maker to market perform from outperform. On the other hand, shares of Quicksilver Resources (KWK: chart) rose 4.3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the oil and gas company to buy from neutral. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 9.93, or 0.08%, to 12,131.64, after falling 158 on Monday. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 4.47, or 0.32%, at 1,386.37, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 0.25, or 0.01%, at 2,405.67. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.50% from 4.53% late Monday.


[R]Existing home sales advanced 0.5%.[/R]
Tuesday morning, the National Association of Realtors released its report on existing home sales in the month of October. The report showed that existing home sales unexpectedly increased compared to the previous month. The report showed that existing home sales rose 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.24 million units in October from an upwardly revised rate of 6.21 million units in September. Economists had expected sales to fall to a 6.15 million unit rate. The report also showed that the national median existing-home price came in at $221,000 in October, down 3.5 percent year-over-year. The decrease marked the biggest year-over-year decline on record. Total housing inventory levels rose 1.9 percent to 3.85 million at the end of October, representing a 7.4-month supply at the current sales pace.

[R]Consumer confidence index dropped unexpectedly.[/R]
The Conference Board released its report on consumer confidence in the month of November on Tuesday, showing that its consumer confidence index fell unexpectedly compared to the previous month. The decrease reflected a tighter labor market and a more guarded short-term outlook. The report showed that the consumer confidence index fell to 102.9 in November from a downwardly revised 105.1 in October. Economists had expected the index to increase to 106.0 compared to the 105.4 originally reported for October. The Conference Board said that the present situation index fell to 123.6 in November from 125.1 in October, as those claiming conditions are good fell to 26.5 percent from 27.9 percent and those claiming conditions are bad remained unchanged at 16.8 percent. The report also showed a deterioration in the short-term outlook, as the expectations index fell to 89.2 in November from 91.9 in the previous month. Those expecting business conditions to improve in the next six months fell to 15.1 percent from 18.5 percent.


[R]10:30AM The Sensex plunged on Tuesday due to weak global markets.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 171.64 points, or 1.25%, lower at 13,601.95. The market-breadth was weak. As 1,072 stocks advanced, 1,465 stocks declined on BSE and 83 remained unchanged. From the Sensex stocks 25 declined while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,049 crore, lower than Rs 4,441 crore on Monday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,257.71 crore, higher than Rs 7,973.17 crore on Monday.

Economic news

Offshore equity funds focused on the Indian subcontinent have doubled their assets over the last 12 months, as a thriving economy and stock market attract foreign investment flow. A total of 143 funds were managing $31.32 billion by the end of October, compared with $15.72 billion at the same time last year.