[R]1:00PM European markets closed down, dragged by Nokia and oil stocks.[/R]
European stocks finished in the red on Friday, pressured by weakness in the energy sector and concerns over mobile-phone maker Nokia''s revenue. Losses on Wall Street also weighed, with U.S. stocks falling on stronger-than-expected payrolls data. Oil companies were notable decliners, dragged down by further retreating oil prices. The French Total slipped 1.3% and the U.K. Royal Dutch Shell fell 2.4% as oil dropped as low as $55 a barrel. Shares of Nokia lost 4.2% in Finland after U.S. rival Motorola cut its sales and earnings forecast. Credit Suisse lowered its rating on Nokia to neutral from outperform. Shares of Ericsson slipped just 0.2%. according to analysts, the semiconductor and mobile-networks segments will also be negatively affected by Motorola''s warning. Outside the sector, Alstom dropped 3.5% in Paris after Citigroup downgraded the company to neutral. The German DAX 30 dropped 1.2%, followed by the French CAC 40 and London FTSE 100, each down 1.1%.

Crude oil prices slipped toward $55 a barrel on mild winter weather and ample supplies. Crude oil February contract fell 27 cents to $55.32 a barrel. London Brent slipped 27 cents to $54.84. The U.S. dollar advanced against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.2995, down from $1.3086. The dollar bought 118.79 yen, down from 119.08. The British pound was quoted at $1.9291, down from $1.9443. European gold prices declined. In London, gold traded at $604.20 per troy ounce, down from $627.10. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $601.95 per ounce, down from $626.65. Silver closed at $12.17, down from $12.74.


[R]11:30AM The Nasdaq dropped 1%, dragged by tech stocks.[/R]
U.S. stock markets extended losses as a surprising surge in job creation and wages undermined investors’ hopes for an interest rate cut in the short term. Weakness in the tech sector also weighed on the market sentiment, sending the Nasdaq more than 1% lower. Motorola (MOT: chart) fell 8% after the cell-phone maker cut its earnings estimates, dragging down technology shares. Among other tech stocks posting losses, Intel Corp. (INTC: chart) fell after a downgrade at Credit Suisse, while Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM: chart) dropped 2.8%. Credit Suisse cut its rating and price target on Broadcom Corp. (BRCM: chart), which was among the top drags on the Nasdaq. The stock fell 4.2%.

Heavy losses by gold stocks also contributed to the downward moves by the major averages. Gold stocks continued to decline as the price of the precious metal moved sharply lower amid some strength shown by the U.S. dollar. Elsewhere, Herbalife Ltd. (HLF: chart) was a notable decliner, falling 20%, as the nutritional supplements company reiterated Q4 profit expectations of 52 cents to 55 cents per share, excluding realignment costs. The company projected sales between $482.7 million and $484.7 million, which is 18% higher than last year''s quarterly sales of $409 million. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 100.46, or 0.80%, to 12,380.23. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 10.76, or 0.76%, at 1,407.58, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 29.15, or 1.19%, at 2,424.28. Prices plummeted in the Treasury market, with the 30-year bond price dropping more than a full point shortly after the jobs report. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.68% from 4.61% late Thursday.


[R]10:30AM NY – 9:30PM Mumbai The Sensex ends lower, oil and gas advance.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 11.19 points, or 0.08%, lower at 13,860.52. Volatility was high as the index traded in a range of 208 points. The market-breadth was positive as 1,640 shares advanced, 1007 declined and 53 remained unchanged. Fro every three advancers, there were two decliners. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 18 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,146 crore, lower than Rs 4,532 crore on Thursday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,771.98 crore, slightly higher than Rs 8,556.02 crore on Thursday.

Economic news

The wholesale price index advanced 5.48% in the 12 months to December 23, higher than the annual rise of 5.43% in the previous week on a rise in the prices of food and manufactured product. During the same time last year the annual inflation rate was 4.62%.

The Reserve Bank of India has denied foreign institutional investment the status of foreign direct investment obtained through private placement of equity by real estate companies. The move has been taken in order to control the asset bubble in the fast-growing realty sector.

In trade today

New issue Pyramid Saimira was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 254.30 crore followed by Sobha Developers and Sesa Goa.

Advancers

ONGC led the gainers, up 2.81% to Rs 899.25 on 4.85 lakh shares on reports that it is very near to buying up to 33% stake in two Caspian sea blocks offshore of Turkmenistan. HPCL was also up 3.34% to Rs 297.35, GAIL India advanced 3.94% to Rs 275.55, BPCL added 2.13% to Rs 351.75, IOC finished up 1.32% to Rs 476.10 and MRPL edged 0.86% higher to Rs 41.20.

ICICI Bank jumped 2.21% to Rs 910.10 as it said that its offshore dollar-denominated debt offering had received a strong response. Housing finance large-cap HDFC gained 1.90% to Rs 1,611.15, as it had raised prime lending rates by 50 basis points from January 1 2007.

Index heavy Reliance Industries gained 0.60% to Rs 1,288 on 9.36 lakh shares. It traded in a range of Rs 1,311.70 and Rs 1,278. Pyramid Saimira Theatre ended at Rs 158.20 on BSE, compared to IPO price of Rs 100. The stock debuted at Rs 135. It struck a high of Rs 163.85 and low of Rs 125.

Sesa Goa, iron ore leader, soared 11.32% to Rs 1,727.25 on reports that it will start negotiations on annual price contracts with major global customers from February 2007. Dabur Pharma also surged 5.13% to Rs 81 as the company on Thursday said it had launched its new nano technology based chemotherapy agent, Nanoxel, in the country.

Decliners

Reliance Communications led the decliners, down 3.90% to Rs 447.10. Maruti Udyog was off 3.06% to Rs 938 as it stock dipped to a low of Rs 930 following reports that the Government may rewrite small car specification for excise duty.

Cement stocks also plunged. ITC lost 2% to Rs 165.50, Hindalco was down 2.52% to Rs 170.50 and Gujarat Ambuja Cements shed 2.59% to Rs 139.