[R]4:00PM NY – 10:00PM Frankfurt – 2:30AM Mumbai[/R]
[R]December retail sales strength supported a rebound in afternoon rebound in stocks prices. Oil prices remained weak. European markets closed higher.[/R]

Yield on 10-year bond closed down at 4.774% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.862%.

Gold lost $12.60 to close at $626.50 a troy ounce, silver increased 41 cents to end at $12.870 a troy ounce and copper decreased 4.30 cents to close at 261.60 cents per pound.

Oil increased 96 cents to close at $52.840 a barrel and heating oil advanced 2.32 cents to finish at 150.36 cents a gallon. Natural gas increased 33.8 cents to close at $6.630 per MMBtu. Gasoline closed up 3.55 cents to end at 142.60 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed higher led by India with a gain of 3.12%, Taiwan with an increase of 1.88% and Philippines with an advance of 1.77%. The only decliner was Indonesia with a decline of 1.51%. Asian markets were mostly higher as indexes in Japan and South Korea advanced on exporters.

European markets finished higher followed the last-day highs. The leader of advancers was Netherlands with a gain of 0.54%, followed by Switzerland with an increase of 0.505 and Belgium with an advance of 0.28%. The only decliner was Norway with a decrease of 0.06%. European stocks closed positive as oil-depend chemical and travel stocks managed to offset negative sentiments generated by weakness from software giant SAP and French retailer Carrefour.

Latin America markets ended higher in part on the back of an increase in the price of oil. Argentina led the region with a gain of 1.45%, followed by Brazil with an advance of 1.00%. There were no decliners in the Latin Markets. Canada gained 1.35%.


[R]1:00PM European markets closed positive, helped by chemical and travel stocks.[/R]
European stocks closed in the positive, as gains in oil-dependent chemical and travel stocks managed to offset negative sentiment generated by weakness from software giant SAP and French retailer Carrefour. Positive start on Wall Street also provided help. Tech shares were dragged down by 7.7% loss for SAP. The largest business software company in the world fell after Q4 license sales fell short of analyst forecasts. Other technology companies such as Atos Origin, Cap Gemini and Business Objects finished lower in Paris. Although oil prices moved slightly higher, they kept under $53 a barrel, helping to boost oil-dependent chemical and travel companies. Shares in airlines Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa rose nearly 1%, while shares in Germany''s BASF and Linde rose by more than 1%. Shares of European retailers showed weakness after French supermarket group Carrefour dropped 5.5% after it reported weaker-than-forecast Q4 sales. The German DAX 30 closed higher by 0.3%, the French CAC 40 added 0.1%, and London FTSE 100 gained 0.1% with last-minute help from BP which rose 1.8% after reporting that E&P Chief Tony Hayward will replace John Browne as CEO after his retirement at the end of July 2007.

Crude oil prices hovered round $52 a barrel, reflecting strong inventories and fears of production cuts by OPEC. Crude oil February contract rose 33 cents to $52.21 a barrel. Heating oil added to $1.4955 a gallon, while gasoline rose to $1.4027. Natural gas climbed 16 cents to $6.456 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose 65 cents to $52.35. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.2933, up from $1.2893. The dollar bought 120.29 yen, up from 120.44. The British pound was quoted at $1.9591, up from $1.9455. European gold prices advanced. In London, gold traded at $617.72 per troy ounce, up from $614.60. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $616.20 per ounce, up from $611.70. Silver closed at $12.61, up from $12.30.


[R]11:30AM Market turned to lackluster performance.[/R]
U.S. stocks fluctuated in late morning trading Friday ahead of a three-day weekend for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Investors digested a pair of profit warnings in the technology sector and better-than-anticipated economic data which signal healthy economy that could make the Fed Reserve to hold interest rates. Although shares of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: chart) plunged 12%, tech stocks traded in the positive. However, shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL: chart) traded down 1%, reflecting a trademark lawsuit filed by Cisco Systems Inc.

After touching a new 19-month low, oil stocks were pushed higher on speculations of production cuts by OPEC. ConocoPhillips (COP: chart) rose 2.4%, while Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) picked up nearly 1%. Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR: chart) traded slightly lower after the oil and gas refiner warned Q4 profit will come below expectations. In corporate news, Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC: chart) fell 2.5% after the family that founded the company raised its buyout bid in what they called the ''best and final offer.''

In late morning trading, the Dow fell 3.93, or 0.03%, to 12,511.05. The index reached a record close of 12,514.98 on Thursday, topping its previous record set Dec. 27. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 1.14, or 0.08%, to 1,424.96, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2.54, or 0.10%, to 2,487.39. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.77% to the highest level since October, from 4.74% late Thursday.


[R]10:30AM NY – 9:30 PM Mumbai Sensex rallies to an all-time high, banks spurt.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE closed 426 points, or 3.1%, higher at 14,056.53, an all-time high. The market-breadth was strong, for every three advancers there were two decliners. For 1,607 shares advancing on BSE, 1,071 declined and 46 stocks were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, there were 30 advancers and no decliners. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,585 crore, compared to Rs 4,430 crore on Thursday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 10,015.72 crore, higher than Rs 9,854.7 crore on Thursday.

Economic news

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved an Ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The amendment relaxes the guidelines for the Reserve Bank of India and allows the commercial banks to lower statutory liquidity ratio, the minimum limit that banks have to keep in the form of approved bonds, cash and gold. Under the current conditions, banks should keep 25% of their total deposits in the form of liquid assets. The move is expected to release more funds for the industry.

Inflation was higher, as latest data showed that the wholesale price index rose at an average rate of 5.58% in the last week in 2006, higher than previous week increase of 5.48% on a rise in food and fuel prices.

The government on Thursday raised a ban on sugar exports with immediate effect on the high domestic production. India is the second-largest sugar producer in the world. It is also one of the largest consumers of sugar.