[R]10:00PM Frankfurt, 4:00PM New York, 8:00AM next day Sydney[/R]

European Markets

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 13.70 or 0.22% to 6,215.70, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 32.10 or 0.60% to close at 5,403.51 and in Frankfurt DAX index closed higher 14.07 or 0.18% to close at 7,732.02. In Zurich trading SMI added 33.68 or 0.41% to close at 8,193.36.

North American Markets indexes

Tech rally sparked by a better than estimated fourth quarter earnings from IBM lifted broader averages. Sears Holdings and Harman International closed sharply lower on lowered earnings estimates.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 171.85 or 1.36% to a close of 12,778.15, S&P 500 closed up 15.23 or 1.09% to 1,416.25, and Nasdaq Composite Index traded up 38.36 or 1.57% to a close of 2,478.30.

In Toronto TSX Composite closed up 58.81 or 0.43% to close at 13,691.38.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average, 25 closed higher, 5 closed lower, and none was unchanged.

Merck led the decliners in the index with a fall of 1.6% followed by losses in Altria Group of 0.9%, and in Pfizer and Wal-Mart of 0.5%.

IBM led the gainers in the index with a rise of 6% followed by increases in Intel of 5%, in Alcoa of 3.4%, in DuPont of 3%, and in Hewlett Packard of 2.7%.

Of the stocks in S&P 500, 335 closed higher, 161 fell, and 4 were unchanged.

Twelve stocks fell more than 3% and eighty two stocks rose more than 3%.

Harman International led the decliners in the index with a fall of 37% followed by losses in Compuware of 13%, in Schering Plough of 7.5%, and in Tiffany of 5.11%.

Sandisk led the gainers in the index with a rise of 6.9% followed by increases in Terex of 6.8%, in Manitowoc of 6.6%, and in Big Lots of 6.5%.

South American Markets Indexes

In Latin Markets Argentina led the decliners in the region with a rise of 2.37% followed by increases in Brazil of 0.4%.

Colombia led the decliners in the index with a loss of 2.2% followed by losses in Venezuela of 1.8%, in Chile of 0.7%, in Mexico of 0.50%, and in Peru of 0.44%.


Asian Markets

In Tokyo, financial markets were closed. In Hong Kong Hang Seng index decreased 398.88 or 1.48% closed to 26,468.13, in Australia ASX 200 index edged lower 1.60 or 0.03% to close 5,980.00.