U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

Stocks have remained sluggish through the early hours of trading as the bond market is closed for Veteran’s Day and there are no strong market drives on the economic or corporate news front. The major averages started higher but have generally moved sideways lately.

The stock markets advanced as crude oil dropped below $58 a barrel, easing concerns about high energy prices and Dell announced it plans to buy back at least $1.7 billion in stock.

Technology stocks remain key drivers on the morning, including a 1.4% advance in the computer hardware sector and a 1.2% rise in the disk drive space. The airline sector is off its intraday highs, but continues to hold a modest advance on the day.

Online brokers Charles Schwab (SCH: chart) and E*TRADE (ET: chart) have moved to new 52-week highs. Gilead Sciences (GILD: chart) is up more than 1.5% to reach a new high, extending two-week gains.

Four Seasons Hotels (FS: chart) dropped sharply on Thursday, falling to a new 52-week low. The stock, which received a downgrade from CIBC World Markets, is extending its low on Friday. Stereotaxis (STXS: chart) has broken to a new low, falling more than 15% on a third-quarter loss that widened from last year.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

The computers maker Dell Inc. (DELL: chart) posted earnings yesterday that met Wall Street''s forecast. The company’s stock added 0.1%.

The media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS: chart) reported a quarterly loss of $433 million resulted from a $1 billion charge on the way it values television station licenses. However, the company’s results beat expectations. News Corp stock is expected to be active today.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the judge overseeing Vioxx-related lawsuits in Merck & Co.’s (MRK: chart) home state, New Jersey, told lawyers she wants the next 10 trials in her court to involve plaintiffs who took the drug for at least eighteen months. The report said it will make it more difficult for Merck to defend itself, since the company has discovered that Vioxx increases heart-attack risks for people who used it daily for 18 months or more. The company’s stock lost 0.6%.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks gained across the region with the Nikkei rising 0.5% on better-than-anticipated GDP growth, 1.7% versus expectations of 1.1%. South Korea’s main stock market index hit an all-time high of 1.8%, supported by tech stocks like Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9%, while China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.4%.

European markets rallied Friday to close with solid gains on automakers and tech shares. The German DAX 30 climbed 1.5% on corporate earnings with the only decliner being the insurance giant Allianz, down 0.9%. The French CAC 40 extended early gains to close up 1.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8%.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil dropped to $57 a barrel on rising supply and declining demand. Light sweet crude December delivery lost 71 cents to trade at $57.09 a barrel on the Nymex. Heating oil shed 2 cents to trade at $1.7208 a gallon. Gasoline declined 3 cents to $1.4794. Natural gas dropped 1 cent to $11.370 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent declined 83 cents to $54.85.

Gold traded mixed in Europe. In London the precious metal closed at $467.20, up from $466.60. In Zurich gold fell to $466.35 from $467.55. In Hong Kong gold lost $0.80 to close at $465.95. Silver traded unchanged at $7.46.

Copper reached an all-time high above $1.90 on supply concerns. December copper climbed to a record $1.905 a pound Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. dollar climbed against major currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.1703, down from $1.1731. The dollar bought 117.97 yen, down from 118.04. The British pound traded at $1.7401, down from $1.7458.

EARNINGS NEWS

Biovail Corp (BVF: chart), pharmaceutical products manufacturer, reported quarterly net profit of 64 cents a share, more than double the year-ago profit of 31 cents a share a year ago on revenue growth. The company lifted its outlook for full year 2005 earnings to $1.80 to $1.85 from $1.75 to $1.80.