WORLD MARKET UPDATES

US Market Reports

Dow Jones NASDAQ NYSE AMEX

With traders expressing optimism about the economic outlook, stocks have moved mostly higher in mid-morning trading on Wednesday. The buying interest on Wall Street comes after the markets ended the previous session nearly flat. The major averages are currently posting moderate gains, off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 38.71 points or 0.3 percent at 12,432.61, the Nasdaq is up 15.47 points or 0.6 percent at 2,806.66 and the S&P 500 is up 3.85 points or 0.3 percent at 1,336.48. The strength in the markets comes as traders seem to be becoming more confident in the outlook for the economy despite the continued unrest in Libya and the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan. Recent news on the merger-and-acquisition front has contributed to the positive sentiment, with the deals seen as a sign that corporations are optimistic about the future. Nonetheless, the lack of any significant U.S. economic news due to be released on the day may be limiting the upside for the markets. Among individual stocks, Applied Materials (AMAT) is posting a notable gain after the company agreed to sell the assets of its semiconductor process kit precision cleaning, coating services and associated analytical testing services businesses to Quantum Global Technologies. Applied Materials did not disclose the terms of the acquisition agreement but said that the deal is expected to close within 30 days. Curtiss-Wright (CW) is also moving to the upside in reaction to its announcement thatBoeing (BA) has selected the company to provide emergent and specialty production support for the final assembly and delivery of the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina. Meanwhile, shares of Cephalon (CEPH) are nearly flat after the company said its board has formally rejected Valeant Pharma's (VRX) $73 per share takeover offer. Cephalon's board has deemed the offer as inadequate and not in the best interests of its shareholders. Sector News With the price of gold rising to a new record high, gold stocks are seeing considerable strength in morning trading. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is currently up by 1 percent after reaching a record intraday high. The strength among gold stocks comes as gold for June delivery is currently up $9.40 at $1,461.90 an ounce. Earlier in the day, gold reached a record intraday high of $1,463.70 an ounce. Electronic storage stocks are also posting substantial gains on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index up by 1.2 percent. With the gain, the index has risen to its highest intraday level in a month. Significant strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain currently being shown by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside, with biotechnology,networking, and wireless stocks posting notable gains.

European Market Reports

FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40

European Markets In Positive Territory  The European markets are in positive territory in afternoon trading Wednesday, ahead of interest rate announcements from central banks tomorrow. Mixed cues from Asia/Pacificand the previous session in the U.S. did not dampen investor confidence, as optimism about economic recovery returned. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro zone blue chippers is rising 0.80 percent, while theStoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is adding 0.57 percent. The German DAX is adding 0.81 percent and the French CAC 40 is rising 0.20 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 and Switzerland's SMI are gaining 0.69 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively. Commerzbank is advancing 1.6 percent, while Deutsche Bank is declining 2.2 percent. Commerzbank revealed plans to raise 11 billion euros in capital to repay about 14.3 billion euros in government aid. In auto stocks, MAN and Daimler are modestly higher, while BMW and Volkswagenare losing moderately. Daimler and British Rolls-Royce Group launched their voluntary public offer for the majority of engine maker Tognum, which is up 0.3 percent in Frankfurt. Investors are showing a cautious attitude ahead of the interest rate decision from theEuropean Central Bank, traders told dpa-AFX. SolarWorld is up 3.1 percent in Frankfurt. Commerzbank upgraded the stock to "Hold" from "Reduce" and increased the price target to 10 euros from 8 euros, dpa-AFX said. Analyst Ben Lynch pointed to a soaring U.S. market as well as a stronger policy for renewable energies in the domestic market. In Paris, lenders Natixis and BNP Paribas are moderately higher, while Societe Generale is losing 0.5 percent and Credit Agricole is declining 1.1 percent. EDF is losing 4.5 percent, a day after the government announced measures to lower energy costs of households. Those making notable losses include Cap Gemini andSTMicroelectronics. Among the components of the FTSE 100 index, Marks & Spencer is adding 5.9 percent. The company issued a trading statement saying sales rose in the fourth quarter.Next is up 3.9 percent and Kingfisher is rising about 2 percent. Sainsbury is moderately higher. Lloyds Banking Group is adding about 4 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland andBarclays are rising 3.2 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. HSBC Holdings is up 2.3 percent. Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys are trading notably higher. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are seeing moderate upside. Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday downgraded seven Portuguese banks, a day after it slashed Portugal's debt rating. Banco Espirito Santo is falling 2.3 percent in Lisbon. U.K. industrial production fell 1.2 percent in February from January, the Office for National Statistics said. This follows a 0.3 percent rise in January. Meanwhile, the rate of inflation in the country slowed in March to 2.4 percent compared to 2.7 percent in the previous month, survey results released by the British Retail Consortium revealed. Switzerland's consumer price annual inflation rose to 1 percent in March from 0.5 percent in February, the Federal Statistical Office. Economists had expected it to stagnate at 0.5 percent. Across Asia/Pacific, markets had a mixed outing. Australia's All Ordinaries added 0.26 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.14 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.56 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.32 percent. In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, theNasdaq edged up 0.1 percent, while the Dow slipped 0.1 percent and the S&P 500inched down less than 0.1 percent. Among commodities, crude for May delivery is sliding $0.25 to $108.09 per barrel and June gold is rising $7.6 to $1460.1 a troy ounce.

Asia Market Reports

Nikkei 225 Hang Seng Bse Sensex S&P/ASX 20

Asian Markets End Mixed  Mixed trading was witnessed across the markets in Asian region Wednesday amid relatively thin volumes on concerns about the global economic recovery. While the markets in India, Japan and South Korea ended in the red with modest losses, those in Australia, China, Hongkong, Singapore and Taiwan ended in positive territory with moderate gains. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 Index added 13.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 4,908.30 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended at 5,011.40 points, representing a gain of 12.80 points, or 0.26 percent from previous close.. On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statisticsrevealed that the total number of home loans in the country was down 5.6 percent in February compared to the previous month, standing at 45,393. That missed expectations for a 2.0 percent monthly decline following the downwardly revised fall of 6.3 percent in January. The value of loans was down 4.0 percent on month, also missing forecasts for a 2.6 percent contraction following the 4.6 percent decline in the previous month. Investment lending was down 2.3 percent on month following the downwardly revised fall of 6.9 percent in January. Light sweet crude oil futures for May delivery was trading at $108.18 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.16 per barrel from previous close at $108.34 a barrel in New York on Tuesday. Mixed trading was witnessed among the major banking stocks. ANZ Banking Groupslipped 0.04 percent, and National Australia Bank was down 0.12 percent. However,Commonwealth Bank of Australia ended in the green with a minor gain of 0.10 percent, and Westpac Banking Corp. climbed up 0.53 percent. Investment banking company Macquarie Group, however, ended in the negative territory with a minor loss of 0.36 percent. Energy related stocks also ended mixed. Woodside Petroleum slipped 0.30 percent,ROC Oil Ltd declined 1.20 percent, and Oil Search was down 0.83 percent. However,Santos Ltd bucked the trend and ended in the positive territory with a gain of 0.63 percent, and Origin Energy climbed 1.17 percent. Gold related stocks ended in the positive territory on higher bullion prices in the international market. Newcrest Mining surged up 2.89 percent, and Kingsgate Resources was higher by 2.60 percent. Mixed trading was also witnessed among the resource stocks. BHP Billiton was higher by 0.84 percent, Macarthur Coal added 0.16 percent, and Minara Resources surged higher by 3.68 percent. However, Fortescue Metals ended in the negative territory with a loss of 0.45 percent, Gindalbie Metals slipped 0.44 percent, Iluka Resources fell 1.73 percent, Mincor Resources lost 1.07 percent, and Murchison Metals plunged 3.69 percent. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 31.18 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 9,584.37, while the broader Topix Index of first section issues declined 7.55 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 839.61. On the economic front, preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office in Japanrevealed that the country's leading index climbed in February for the fourth month in a row to reach the highest since May 2006. The leading index came in at 104.2 in February, up from 101.5 in January, matching economists' expectations. The coincident index, a measure of current economic conditions, rose to 106.3 in February from 105.9 in January. This reading also came in line with consensus forecast. The lagging index also improved to 91 from 88.7. Stocks of securities led the decliners. Mizuho Securities declined 2.40 percent, Matsui Securities plunged 4.05 percent, Daiwa Securities Group lost 2.72 percent, andNomura Holdings was down 3.09 percent. Iron & steel stocks also ended in the negative territory. JFE Holdings was down 3.37 percent, Kobe Steel plunged 3.77 percent, Pacific Metals Co, was down 1.98 percent, and Nippon Steel Corp. lost 1.54 percent. Stocks of non-ferrous metal products also ended in the negative territory. SUMCO Corpplunged 3.90 pecent, Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd slipped 1.16 percent, Sumitomo Electric Industries shed 1.10 percent, DOWA Holdings was down 1.13 percent. Among the gainers, All Nippon Airways advanced 0.85 percent. Communication stocks ended in the green with modest gains. SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings advanced 2.16 percent, NTT Docomo added 0.41 percent and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company advanced 0.57 percent. In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended in the green with a gain of 33.82 points, or 1.14 percent, at 3,001.23. In Hong Kong, the benchmark HangSeng Index ended at 24, 285.05, up 134.47 points, or 0.56 percent from previous close. In Indonesia, the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 41.86 points, or 1.14 percent, at 3,727.80. In Singapore, the Strait Times Index ended in the green with gain of 17.85 points, or 0.57 percent, at 3,164.60. In India, the benchmark BSE index ended in the negative territory with a loss of 74.62 points, or 0.38 percent, at 19,612.20, while the broader Nifty index ended at 5,891.75, down 18.30 points, or 0.31 percent, from previous close. In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI Index ended at 2,126.71, down with a minor loss of 3.72 points, or 0.17 percent from previous close. In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiwan Weighted Index ended at 8,851.98, registering a gain of 146.85 points, or 1.69 percent, from previous close.

Forex Top Story

USDCAD USDEUR USDGBP USDJPY

Dollar At Lowest Since January 2010 Versus Euro  The dollar dropped to its lowest in more than a versus the euro on Wednesday, amid growing speculation the European Central Bank will begin to tighten monetary tomorrow. The interest rate gap between the U.S. and E.U. is expected to widen from its current level of one percent. Traders are pricing in an ECB hike of 0.25 percent to 1.25 percent, the first move in what is expected to be a gradually tightening in order to dampen inflation. Even with soaring Portuguese borrowing costs highlighting Europe's sovereign debt problems, the dollar dropped more than a penny from yesterday's levels versus the euro. The buck dropped to $1.43 for the first time since January 2010. In the past three months, the dollar has lost 15 cents. While the ECB has been talking tough on inflation, the Federal Reserve and Chairman Ben Bernanke has insisted inflationary pressures are transitory. The Fed has left interest rates at effectively zero and has given no indication that it may scale back its $600 billion quantitative easing program. The buck also moved lower against the sterling, slipping to $1.6350 amid mounting speculation the Bank of England could raise interest rates as soon as Thursday. On the flip side, the buck continued its comeback versus the slumping yen, touching a 6-month high of Y85.50. Less than a month ago the dollar hit a record low of Y76.30 before officials intervened to weaken the yen. In economic news from the U.S., U.S. mortgage applications continued to decline as interest rates crept back towards five percent, housing industry figures showed Wednesday. Mortgage applications decreased 2.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 1, 2011. Canadian Market Reports CADUSD Oil Gold Allbanc TSX May Extend Gains At Open As Gold Shines Bay Street stocks are poised for a higher open Wednesday amid surging bullion and firm energy prices. However, large gains may be capped amid profit taking at higher levels as traders might turn cautious ahead of policy meetings by three central banks, scheduled Thursday. While the European Central Bank is almost guaranteed to raise rates, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are expected to hold steady. U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open. On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced to a fresh 30-month high of 14,270.53, adding 52.19 points or 0.37 percent. The price of crude oil was firm above $108 as traders await cues from the official inventories data from the EIA, due out later today. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to gain by 2.0 million barrels last week. Crude for May edged up $0.11 to $108.45 a barrel. The price of gold advanced to a record peak as its safe haven appeal increased amid unrest across the Arab world and concerns over the euro zone's debt finances. Gold for June gained $6.80 to $1,459.30 an ounce. In the M&A patch, drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said that it was disappointed with Cephalon Inc.'s rejection of its takeover offer and noted that it was taking its offer directly to Cephalon's stockholders by initiating its consent solicitation process. On March 29, Valeant announced its proposal to buy Frazer, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon for $73 per share in cash, or about $5.7 billion. The hostile offer represented a 24.25 percent premium to Cephalon's closing stock price on the previous day. In other corporate news, oil and gas firm Pacific Rubiales Energy said it plans to purchase for cancellation up to a maximum of 11.6 million common shares in the capital of the company through the facilities of the TSX and La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia. Network solutions provider Sandvine Corp. slipped in to the red in first quarter, reporting net loss of $2.7 million or $0.020 per share compared to profit of $0.5 million or $0.003 per share year ago. Adjusted net loss totaled $1.9 million or $0.014 per share versus adjusted income of $1.5 million or $0.011 per share prior year. Bombardier Aerospace, a unit of Bombardier Inc. said it has received $255 million orders from an undisclosed customer for three Challenger and three Global jets. Sports goods retailer Forzani Group reported improved fourth quarter net earnings of C$24.2 million or C$0.84 per share compared to C$22.9 million or C$0.75 per share in the year-ago quarter. Elsewhere, Moody's Investors Service upped its rating on the global integrated oil and gas sector to 'positive' from 'stable', citing continuing strength in the financial performance of oil firms. In its new Industry Outlook update for the integrated sector, Moody's yesterday said that the improvements in financial performance are likely to be underpinned by elevated oil prices and a gradual improvement in operating conditions.