At the same time, Sears Holdings (SHLD: chart) dropped 5.3% after it warned of lower-than-expected Q2 profit, due to weak sales. Among other companies posting quarterly results, Greenbrier (GBX: chart) surged 19% after reporting better-than-forecast earnings. Cheesecake Factory (CAKE: chart) gained on a 16% rise in Q2 revenue.

In other corporate news, General Motors (GM: chart) and Ford (F: chart) were upgraded to overweight at J.P. Morgan. S&P 500 futures dropped 4.7 points at 1,537.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 9.5 points at 1,999.00. Dow industrial futures fell 30 points. Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 5.12%.


[R]8:30AM Asian markets end mixed with Japan declining on stronger yen, and China falling on profit-taking.[/R]

In Tokyo, the index edged lower as real estate stocks and export shares declined. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Average finished 0.05% lower at 18,253. The yen strengthened to 123.43 per dollar from 123.65 at yesterday''s close. The real estate sector lost on fears that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates in near future. Two of the biggest real estate developers dropped. Mitsui Fudosan dipped 1.4% and Mitsubishi Estate lost 1.5%. Exporters also suffered as the yen strengthened against the dollar. Toyota lost 0.5 percent, while Canon Inc. fell 1 percent.

In Hong Kong, expectations of strong first-half earnings from Chinese banks led the rally. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.3% to close at 22,886. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China surged 5.1% as the largest bank by assets in the country announced that its first-half net profit is likely to advance more than 50% from a year earlier. China Merchants rallied 7.2% as it also expects first-half profit to double from the same period the previous year.

Banks and telecoms buoyed South Korea. The Kospi Index in Seoul advanced 0.6% to 1,895. An upward revision of the country’s gross domestic product by the Bank of Korea to 4.5% from 4.4% also boosted the rally. Kookmin Bank gained 2.2% and Shinhan Financial Group closed 5.7% higher.

In China, gains from the banking sector were pared by profit-taking. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.8% to settle at 3,853. Youngor Group dropped 1.5% and Shanghai Automotive lost 3.2%, while ICBC ended 1.7% higher and China Merchants rallied 7.5%.

In Sydney, resources stocks declined on profit-taking, erasing some of the gains they have won in recent sessions. Australian S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6% to 6,362. In copany news, BHP Billiton shed 1% after advancing 3.5% on Monday, while Rio Tinto inched 0.1% higher. Lead and zinc company Zinifex plunged 3.9%.


[R]7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex sheds 36 points, Tata Motors rallies, the rupee advances.[/R]

The Sensex on BSE finished 35.85 points lower, or 0.24%, at 15,009.88.

The benchmark index opened 54 points higher at 15,100.13 and rallied to a record high of 15,114.95 in morning trading, a gain of 69.22 points for the day. It dropped to a low of 14,966.40 in early afternoon trading.

The market-breadth was positive in the morning, but turned negative in the latter part of the session. In the broader market 2,710 stocks traded on the market, 1,170 advanced, while 1,467 declined and only 73 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 14 advanced, while 16 declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,024 crore, higher than Rs 4,845 crore on Monday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 10,720 crore, compared to Rs 9,762 crore on Monday.

Economic news

The Indian rupee edged higher towards a nine-year high on speculation that overseas funds will buy more local equities as the economy expands. In early trade, the rupee stood at 40.39 per dollar, up from 40.423 on Monday, and close to a nine-year high of 40.28 struck in late May 2007.

Trading highlights

ICRA was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 186.50 crore followed by Orbit Corporation and DLF.

Tomorrow might be a crucial day for the markets with all eyes set on the Infosys as the company releases its Q1 results.

Advancers of the Day