[R]4:00PM Market erased earlier gains on economic concerns.[/R]
U.S. stock averages closed mixed Wednesday, reversing from substantial gains made earlier in the session. Market turned to a heavy sell-off after minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy setting meeting indicated growing concerns over economic growth, with the pullback in the housing sector in particular. The Dow was rose 11.37, or 0.09%, to 12,474.52 after surging more than 100 points early in the session to a new trading high of 12,580.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.70, or 0.12%, to 1,416.60, while the tech-laden Nasdaq rose 7.87, or 0.33%, to 2,423.16. Bonds rose following release of the Fed minutes, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.66% from 4.71% late Friday.

Automakers released December sales. Toyota reported advance. General Motors and Ford posted considerable declines. Honda's sales were slightly lower.

General Motors (GM: chart) posted a steeper-than-expected drop in December U.S. auto sales. The carmaker sales reported 13% drop to 334,501 light vehicles. The stock fell 4%. Ford (F: chart) posted an overall drop of 12.8% to 233,621 vehicles with most of the weakness coming from the truck side, which saw a 14% drop to 163,003 units. Ford's top selling F-Series truck showed a 21.1% decline to 70,580 units. Shares of the company added 0.4%.

Toyota (TM: chart) reported a 12.3% advance from last year to 228,322 cars and trucks. Lexus division sales in the month climbed 5.8% to 37,235. December sales of the company's best-selling Camry model rose 18.7% to 39,539 units. Honda (HMC: chart) sales fell 0.8% in December. Car sales fell 0.7% to 66,441, while truck sales decreased by 0.8% to 65,337. Total Honda division sales fell 1.3% in December to 112,722 units, while Acura division sales rose 2.3% to 19,056.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.660% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.769%.

Gold declined $8 to close at $630 a troy ounce, silver lost 24 cents to end at $12.625 a troy ounce and copper lost 21.4 cents to close at 265.70 cents per pound.

Oil lost $3.120 to close at $57.930 a barrel and heating oil declined 6.91 cents to finish at 157.91 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 13.8 cents to close at $6161 per MMBtu.

Asian markets closed lower led by Thailand with a loss of 3.03%, South Korea with a decline of 1.81% and Australia with a decrease of 0.34%. The advancers were led by Singapore with a gain of 1.74%, Philippines with an increase of 1.47% and India with an advance of 0.52%. Hong Kong and Singapore ended in record highs as investors added to positions in the hope that bull market in 2006 will run into 2007. Thailand plunged as trading resumed for the first time since Bangkok was rocked by a series of bombs on New Year’s Eve.

European markets finished higher led by Switzerland with a gain of 1.53%, Belgium with an increase of 0.29% and Germany with an advance of 0.15%. The decliners were Norway with a decrease of 1.25% and France with a loss of 0.12%.European markets were higher as investors took in an as-expected strong start to trading on Wall Street and better-than-expected manufacturing data from the U.S.

Latin America markets ended lower as oil prices fell, sparking a sell off in energy issues. The decliners were led by Brazil with a loss of 2.07%, Argentina with a decrease of 1.94% and Canada with a decline of 1.79%. There were no advancers.


[R]2:00PM Stocks sustained early gains. Retail and airline stocks gained.[/R]
Stock market averages continued to rally in early afternoon trading Wednesday, driven by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data, a notable decline by the oil price and gains for leading retailer companies. Both Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) and Home Depot (HD: chart) rose above 3%, pushing the Dow Jones to a new trading high. General Motors (GM: chart) was one of the very few losers on the Dow, falling 2.5% after Banc of America downgraded the stock to sell from neutral. Meanwhile, rival Ford Motor Co. (F: chart) added 1.2% after reporting that its December sales fell 13%, less than traders had expected.

Crude oil futures dropped below $59 a barrel amid lower heating fuel demand due to warmer winter weather across much of the U.S. The price decrease contributed to particularly strong gains by airline stocks. AMR (AMR: chart) jumped 8.3%, JetBlue (JBLU: chart) climbed 5.6%, and Continental (CAL: chart) rose 6.1%, helping to lead the sector higher. Networking stocks also posted substantial gains. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU: chart) turned in one of the sector''s best performances, with the communications equipment giant up 8.1%.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow surged 96.53, or 0.77 percent, to 12,559.68 after jumping earlier to a new trading high of 12,580.35. The Nasdaq composite index especially showing sharp gains. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 7.94, or 0.56%, at 1,426.24, and the tech-laden Nasdaq rose 32.92, or 1.36%, to 2,448.21. Bonds rose but retreated from an earlier big advance; the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.68% from 4.71% late Friday.


[R]1:00PM European markets closed little changed. Steelmakers and miners dropped.[/R]
European stocks closed little changed on Wednesday. Markets drifted near six-year highs, hit in the first trading session yesterday, reflecting robust opening on Wall Street and better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data. Steelmakers, including ThyssenKrupp and Mittal Steel, showed weakness as Credit Suisse downgraded the steel sector to underweight from market weight. Mining stocks also came under pressure, with copper miners Xstrata and Antofagasta moving down as copper prices steeply fell. On a more positive note, banking stocks posted gains. Royal Bank of Scotland was up 1.9%, lifted by a positive UBS note. Among other movers today, shares of Irish building-materials company CRH retreated from recent gains, falling 1.1%. Dutch media group Wegener rose 4.2% on considerably higher operating profit during the second half of the year. Among regional markets, The German DAX 30 and London FTSE 100 added 0.1% each, while the French CAC 40 lost 0.1%.

Crude oil prices slipped below $59 a barrel as mild winter weather dampened fuels demand. Crude oil February contract tumbled $2.08 to $58.97 a barrel. Heating oil fell 5 cents to $1.6050 a gallon. Natural gas futures slipped 11 cents to $6.187 per 1,000 cubic feet. The U.S. dollar gained ground against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3188, down from $1.3276. The dollar bought 119.44 yen, up from 119.05. The British pound was quoted at $1.9528, down from $1.9586. European gold prices declined. In London, gold traded at $635.25 per troy ounce, down from $640.23. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $635.90 per ounce, down from $638.85. Silver closed at $12.88, down from $13.08.


[R]11:30AM Market rallied on strong factory data. Wal-Mart, Home Depot boosted Dow.[/R]
U.S. stocks rallied in the first session of 2007 on optimism about the economy, following a stronger-than-expected report on December manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management. The index came in at 51.4%, stronger than the expected reading of 50%. A decline in oil prices also helped generate positive sentiment. Light, sweet crude dropped to $59.62 a barrel. The Dow surged to a triple-digit advance and a new high, with shares of Wal-Mart and Home Depot leading gainers. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) rose 3.5% after December same-store sales rose more than expected. The world’s biggest retailer said same-store sales rose 1.6%, exceeding the company''s forecast of flat growth up to 1%. Home Depot (HD: chart) advanced 3.4% after news that chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli resigned from the world''s largest home improvement chain.

Shares of copper producers fell sharply in early Wednesday trading after a 6% drop in copper prices. Copper for March delivery fell 17.6 cents to $2.695 a pound. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX: chart) dropped 6.8%, while Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD: chart), which agreed to be taken over by Freeport, fell 2.3%. Southern Copper Corp. (PCU: chart) lost 3.4%% and shares of Ivanhoe Mines (IVN: chart) slipped 4.8%%.