The New York equities markets were up on Wednesday despite bad news from the area affected by Hurricane Katrina as well as economic news that showed economic growth up less than expected in the second quarter and data showing the manufacturing sector contracting for the first time in two years in August.

Higher oil prices were blamed for the negative economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent to 10,484.52, the Nasdaq composite added 1.1 percent to 2,152.09, and the S&P 500 was up by 1 percent to 1,220.31. The S&P energy index gained 2.6 percent, while its insurance index was flat due to worries centered around the amount of damage caused by Katrina.

Insurer Allstate lost 0.8 percent on the day to $56.21, and it has lost nearly 4 percent since the hurricane made landfall on Monday. In contrast American Insurance Group was up 0.1 percent to $59.04.

In the energy sector TransOcean was up 2.6 percent to $59.04, Sunoco gained 5.6 percent to $72.61, and Valero Energy advanced by 10 percent to $106.50.

In the healthcare sector, hospital operator Tenet Healthcare lost 3.8 percent to $12.18 when it said it had closed six facilities because of the effect of Hurricane Katrina.

In more positive territory, luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany gained 12.3 percent to $37.42 on the announcement that its earnings were better than expected in the quarter and that it had raised its guidance for the full year.

Crude oil prices once again were a major reason that Tokyo equities markets ended the day lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3 percent to 12,413.60, while the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,271.29.

Airlines, shippers and automobile manufacturers all fell, as did the transport equipment sector, which was down 0.8 percent as a whole. Toyota lost 1.1 percent to ¥4,500 as investors worried that the export-dependent carmaker could be harmed if demand in the US goes down due to high oil prices.

Japan Airlines, which said it was considering raising domestic fares, was down 1.3 percent to ¥311, as the air transport sector fell 0.6 percent. Shipper Mitsui OSK declined by 0.7 percent to ¥808.

In addition Japan’s second largest travel agency, Kinki Nippon Tourist, lost 3.7 percent to ¥315 on worries that travel costs will increase.

Oil refiner and shipper Cosmo Oil decreased by 4.7 percent to ¥549 on the announcement that it would issue ¥39 billion in new bonds and shares as it tries to raise money to expand its refining capacity.

European oil stocks were up on Wednesday as oil prices stayed high, while telecommunications stocks saw losses on the day. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent on the day to 1,177.19.

France Telecom was down 0.8 percent to €24.41 as it offered a rights issue worth €3 billion in order to aid in funding Spanish mobile phone operator Amena, a purchase worth €6.4 billion. OTE, the Greek telecommunications company, was up early but then ended the day down by 2.2 percent to €16.76 although it had beat forecasts for profits in the second quarter.

In the oil and gas sector, Neste Oil of Finland gained 9 percent to €27.25, the highest rise of the day. Repsol YFP and Total each gained 2.6 percent on the day, as Repsol closed at €23.98 and Total ended the session at €213.10. Eni added 2.3 percent to close the day at €23.97. Oil services company Saipem was up 2.7 percent to €13.63.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1 percent to €69.20, losing gains from its earnings goal for the full year when Deutsche Bank said that the company’s testing of new drugs has come up with mixed results due to a key depression drug it is developing was successful in one test, but did not make it through the testing process on another trial.

London equities markets were up on Wednesday in spite of worries about short and long-term repercussions for the oil infrastructure on the US Gulf Coast due to damages incurred by Hurricane Katrina. The FTSE 100 was up 0.8 percent to 5,296.9 and the FTSE 250 gained 7,749.2 on a volume of 3.1 billion shares traded.

With the rise in oil prices, oil stocks were up despite damage to facilities in the storm zone. Royal Dutch Shell “B” shares gained 2.1 percent to £18.81 despite reports that two of their drilling rigs were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, ripped loose from their moorings by Katrina.

The mining sector saw gains after Morgan Stanley said that demand from China will mean the peak of the current commodities cycle will not come until into 2006 and predicted that iron ore prices will go up by 5 percent next year. In the sector, Vedanta Resources gained 2.2 percent to 564p, while Anglo American gained 1.8 percent to £14.02.

In the telecommunications sector, mobile phone operator O2 gained 2.3 percent to 153¼p after Morgan Stanley increased the company’s target price to 175p per share, saying that a takeover of the company was still a possibility.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina began to be felt on the New York equities markets on Tuesday, a combination of soaring oil prices, news of damage to the infrastructure in the areas affected that will cost insurers billions of dollars, and closures of retailers in the region hit by the storm.

Not even a report of increased consumer confidence in August helped much. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 percent on the day to close at 10,412.82, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 2,129, and the S&P 500 closed down 0.3 percent to 1,208.41.

All areas of the transport sector felt the effect of high oil prices. Delta Airlines, which was already near bankruptcy, lost 5.5 percent to $1.20 as the Amex airline index fell 3 percent to 46.75.

Ground transport was not immune either, as United Parcel Service fell 1.1 percent to $70.42 and rail freight company CSX declined by 1.7 percent to $44.85.

Insurers and reinsures dropped as damage estimates in the hurricane zone rose. Hartford Financial Services lost nearly 0.3 percent to $73.15, while American International Group declined by 0.4 percent to $59.28. Retailers and restaurants were down on the day, with many of them suffering closures in the storm-affected areas.

Wal-Mart lost 1 percent to $45.19 after it said that 123 of its stores had been closed due to the hurricane. Jewelry retailer Tiffany lost 2.6 percent to $33.31. Office supply chain Staples lost 2.9 percent to $21.85.

The oil sector, on the other hand saw substantial gains. Refiner ConocoPhillips was up 2.1 percent to $64.41, while oilfield services company Halliburton saw the value of its shares rise 3.5 percent to $59.84.

The Tokyo equities markets did better on Tuesday as they gained back the ground that they lost on Monday. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent to 12,453.14 and the Topix index was up by 1.2 percent as well, to 1,273.60.

The iron and steel sector did well, gaining 3.9 percent, while the shipping sector gained 1.5 percent. Nippon Steel gained 5.2 percent to ¥321, while JFE added 4.6 percent to ¥3,200. Shipper Nippon Yusen was up 1.5 percent to ¥696.

The transport equipment sector as a whole gained 1.3 percent, and Toyota, one of Japan’s biggest exporters and the second largest automobile manufacturer in the world, was up by 2.2 percent to ¥4,550.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Eisai was up 1.2 percent to ¥4,160 after an announcement on Monday that it was ready to take its experimental drug aimed at treating sepsis to the next level of testing.

The financial sector also did well. Banking group Mizuho gained 4 percent to ¥619,000, while securities house Nomura added 2.2 percent to ¥1,521.

On the losing side, supermarket chain Eco lost 5.7 percent to ¥1,084 when it said it would probably take losses in the first half of the 2005-2006 fiscal year due to low sales, which it blamed on heavy competition.

In Europe on Tuesday, insurers saw slight gains on hopes that the damage from Hurricane Katrina would not be as extensive and as costly as feared, while oil companies saw the value of their stocks rise with the gains in crude oil prices.

Meanwhile, construction companies saw mixed results. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down by 0.04 percent to 1,166.94. In the insurance sector, reinsurer Munich Re put its estimate of Katrina’s damage at between $15 billion and $20 billion in insured loss, and said that it did not see the hurricane’s effects as any reason to alter its 2005 earnings forecast. Munich Re gained 0.3 percent to €91. Meanwhile, Hannover Re gained 0.7 percent to €29.90.

In the oil and gas sector, prices that hit new record highs outweighed the known and possible damage to production facilities in the area affected by Katrina to send share prices higher. Repsol YPF was up 0.4 percent to €23.37, while Total gained 0.6 percent to €207.80 and Royal Dutch Shell added 1 percent to €25.99.

In the construction sector, Irish building materials group CRH dropped 2.8 percent to €21.65 despite having reported a 20 percent rise in pre-tax profits. On the other hand, Spanish builders did better. Acciona saw a 2.5 percent gain to €89.40 on its report that first-half profits were up by 37 percent, while ACS, Spain’s largest construction group, was up 1.7 percent to €24.10 in anticipation of the release of its first-half results on Wednesday.

Despite the chaos caused by Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast on Monday, the New York equities markets recovered from early losses to close in positive territory for the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6 percent to 10,463.05, the Nasdaq composite ended the day ahead by 0.8 percent to 2,137.65, and the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to close at 1,212.31.

Higher oil prices helped oil companies to gains. Chevron gained 0.2 percent to $59.51, while BP added 0.4 percent to close at $66.35.

Some companies saw gains due to projections of increases in business due to the hurricane. For example, housing products retailer Home Depot was up 1.8 percent to $40.54. Others were down on the day due to the effects of the storm.

Insurers were hard hit, as it was estimated that losses from the Katrina might total as high as $25 billion, the costliest storm in the history of the US. St. Paul’s Travellers lost 1.1 percent and Allstate was down by 1.3 percent to $57.18. Isle of Capri Casinos was down by 2.9 percent to $23.47. The company, which runs riverboat casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi could sustain severe losses if their facilities are damaged, as production disruption insurance generally does not come into force until 90 days after the damage occurs.

On the winning side for the day PaAmSat, a new satellite operator set to become the largest in the world, gained 20.2 percent on the day to $23.80.

The Tokyo equities markets were down substantially on Monday as crude oil prices rose to new highs yet again, peaking at over $70 per barrel.

The Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent to 12,309.83, while the Topix index declined by 1.1 percent to 1,258.64.

Stocks were down almost across the board as it was believed by investors that high oil prices would hit exports only marginally more than they would hit companies that depend on domestic demand.

Energy-dependent sectors did especially badly, with the sea transport sector down 2 percent as a whole, while the air transport sector was down an even larger 2.2 percent, due to a bomb scare on a Japan Airlines plane as well as to the surge in oil prices.

Information and communications stocks were down 1.4 percent, while the transport equipment sector fell 1.3 percent, and precision machinery as a whole lost 1.2 percent.

In the airlines sector, Japan Airlines lost 3.1 percent to ¥313 and All Nippon Airways fell by 1.4 percent to ¥362. Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer lost 2 percent to ¥4,450, and it’s biggest shipper, Nippon Yusen, declined by 1.7 percent to ¥686.

Japan’s largest brokerage house, Nomura, lost 1.6 percent to ¥1,488 as the securities sector as a whole fell by 1.5 percent.

In European equities markets on Monday, stocks rose after a full week of losses last week as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day up 0.3 percent to 1,167.43, in the absence of trading of 76 UK stocks because of the UK bank holiday.

The oil sector was mixed on the day, with Hurricane Katrina to blame. Smaller oil companies were mainly up, with Austrian company OMV up 2.7 percent to €43.70, while Saipem of Italy added 1.7 percent to €13.17.

However some larger oil companies, and especially those with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, sustained losses due to production halts and the uncertainty over whether or not their facilities would sustain damage from the storm. Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.1 percent to €26.79. Despite the storm Total, the French oil company, managed to gain 0.4 percent to €206.60.

The airlines and automobile manufacturing sectors saw losses due to rising oil prices. Lufthansa fell 0.1 percent to €10.74 and Ryanair declined by 0.6 percent to €6.55.

Tui, out of Germany, managed to overcome the news of higher oil prices to gain 1.2 percent to €19.28 on its announcement that it was thinking about raising fuel surcharges this winter.

In the auto sector Volkswagen was one of the few stocks to avoid losses, avoiding movement at all to stay at €42.91. Elsewhere, Renault lost 0.6 percent to €71.55, while Peugeot and Porsche each fell by 0.2 percent, to €50.60 and €637.63 respectively.

Insurers also had a bad day as losses due to Hurricane Katrina were being projected to possibly rise as high as $25 billion if it hit major population centers.

Primary insurers did badly enough, with Zurich Financial falling as far as SFr215.20 before ending the day up by only 0.1 percent to SFr220.70 and ING losing 0.3 percent to €23.18. Reinsurers did even worse. Swiss Re fell 0.4 percent to SFr81.65, Munich Re lost 0.5 percent to €90.73, and Hannover Re declined by 0.8 percent to €29.70.

The New York equities markets were down on the day Friday and on the week as durable goods orders and sales of existing homes were down, as well as on data released on Friday by the University of Michigan that consumer sentiment in the US has fallen more than was expected.

Not helpful for the markets, either, were comments by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan that housing prices are unbalanced and could end up affecting the US economy adversely.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 percent on the day and 1.5 percent on the week to close at 10,397.29, the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6 percent Friday and 0.7 percent for the week to 2,120.77, and the S&P 500 was down by 0.6 percent for the day and 1.2 percent on the week to 1,205.1, leaving both the Nasdaq and the S&P at their lowest levels since the middle of July.

Some companies that saw losses this week blamed climbing oil prices that cut into consumer spending for other items.

Applebee’s International, the restaurant chain, said that high oil prices were the main reason that it reduced its earnings predictions for the year. Applebee’s lost 8.1 percent on the week to close at $22.36 on Friday.

Furniture maker La-Z-Boy lost 3.8 percent this week to end at $13.51 after it said second-quarter sales would be down due to high oil prices impinging on consumer spending in other areas.

Homebuilders saw losses on the week despite a report of a record month for sales of new homes in July. Beazer Homes lost 4.4 percent on the week to $58.56, KB Homes lost 2.6 percent to $$70.09, and Pulte Homes declined by 1.7 percent to $83.02. The S&P sector index for homebuilders dropped 1.2 percent on the week.

There were gains on the week, with York International, the heater and air conditioner maker, up 37 percent to $57 after an offer from Johnson Controls.

The rest of the sector also saw gains. In the technology sector, Hewlett Packard gained 0.4 percent to $27.01 when it said it would invest $150 million in radio frequency identification technology.

The Tokyo equities markets were up on Friday, but investors seemed to be waiting for more evidence that the economy is recovering before making too much of a commitment.

They also looked to be concerned about the continuing trend up in crude oil prices and indications that the September 11 elections might result in no clear majority.

Thursday figures were released that showed export volumes are lower than last year, and on Friday there was news that Japan is still in the midst of mild deflation.

The Nikkei 225 was up 0.3 percent to 12,439.48, while the Topix index gained 0.35 percent to 1,272.46.

Losers on the day included Fast Retailing, which lost 9.1 percent to ¥8,180 on its first day of trade on the Nikkei index, but the decline was small in comparison to its gains after it was announced that it would be added to the Nikkei.

Also down on the day was Sumitomo Realty Development, which fell 0.4 percent to ¥1,388 as the real estate sector as a whole declined by 0.6 percent.

The iron and steel sector was up, however, by 1.1 percent, as Nippon Steel gained 1 percent to ¥310 on higher demand.

Ferro-alloy maker Nippon Denko gained 9.05 percent to ¥446 on a tripling of its first-half net profit due to higher prices on its products.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw five straight days of losses during the week, and ended the day Friday down by 2.5 percent from its starting point on Monday.

The oil sector saw mostly negative results despite a rise of 1 percent in crude oil prices for the week.

The exception was OMV, listed in Vienna, which gained 9.6 percent on the week to €42.63 to rate as the biggest advance during the week on the Eurofirst.

This rise came on an unexpectedly healthy rise in profits in the second quarter, brought about by good refining margins and a Romanian acquisition.

Elsewhere in the sector, the results were not so good. Eni dropped 2.9 percent to €23.22, while Repsol YPF lost 2.8 percent to €23.17 and France’s Total declined by 2.2 percent to €205.70.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, while Fiat lost 3.9 percent on Friday to end the week at €7.08, it still managed to post a gain of 0.7 percent for the week.

Most of the week’s gains for the carmaker came from heavy sales ahead of a loan conversion that could leave the banks that extended the loans owning more of the company than is held by the company’s founding family.

It was rumored that most of that buying had been done by the family’s holding company to limit how much the stock will be diluted by the conversion.

Reinsurer Swiss Re gained 2.8 percent on Friday, the best performance of the day, to SFr82, and notched a 1.9 percent gain on the week.

The London equities markets ended both the day Friday and the week mixed as investors worried that interest rates might be about to rise due to an increase in inflation brought on by higher oil prices.

The FTSE 100 closed at 5,228.1 on Friday, down 0.5 percent on the day and 1.6 percent lower for the week. The FTSE 250, however, gained 0.3 percent for the day and 0.5 percent for the week to close at 7,700.5.

Trade volumes were low at only 2 billion shares traded on the day. The slow trade was put to the upcoming bank holiday; traditionally, this is one of the quietest times of year on the exchanges.

With little news of substance, rumors concerning possible takeovers drew extra attention.

On Friday such rumors sent shares in Imperial Tobacco up a bit, rising 0.1 percent to £15.36. All it took to start the rumors were comments from Japan Tobacco that it might be interested in acquiring European rivals.

During the week Centrica, Lloyds TSB, and Rentokil were all the subject of takeover rumors of one sort or another.

Lloyds saw its shares fall in value by 0.1 percent to 457½p on Friday as analysts cast doubt on rumors that US bank Wells Fargo was interested in the bank.

Meanwhile, leisure group Hilton gained 2 percent to 310p as Goldman Sachs raised its pre-tax profits prediction for the company by 2 percent to £420.8 million. Hilton was also helped by an increase in its target price by UBS from 340p to 355p.

Brazilian equities markets and its currency both saw losses on Friday as
investors engaged in profit-taking and as they braced for the possibility of more revelations in the country’s current political scandal. The real lost 0.96 percent to 2.422 to the US dollar, after a 1.68 percent gain on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Bovespa index in Sao Paulo was down 0.52 percent to 27,258 on the heels of a 2.58 percent gain on Thursday. Almost all stocks fell on Friday, with mobile phone company TIM Participacoes falling an especially steep 3.91 percent to 4.42 reais. One of the few exceptions was Telemar, which gained 0.28 percent to 35.60 reais.

Thursday’s gains came after the ex-aide who had accused Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci of accepting bribes when he was a mayor said that he had no proof of his accusations. Investors had been worried that if proof of wrongdoing on the finance minister’s part has been produced,
Mr. Palocci might have been forced to resign, bringing on a period of
uncertainty concerning economic policy.

But some analysts were not convinced that Mr. Palocci is completely in the clear, and urged caution until it is seen whether the weekend brought any new revelations or proof of the ex-aide’s allegations.

The New York equities markets closed up on the day Thursday, but the gains they made were nearly cancelled out when oil prices rose once again during the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to 10,450.63, the Nasdaq composite was up 0.3 percent to 2,134.37, and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to 1,212.40.

The biggest gain of the day came from heating and air conditioning manufacturer York International, which gained 36 percent to $56.79 after auto parts supplier Johnson Controls offered a takeover bid. Other companies in the sector also rose.

Lennox International added 5.8 percent on the day to $24.48, while American Standard rose by 2.9 percent to $44.88. Elsewhere, Six Flags gained 11 percent to $7.26 after it said it would seek outside buyers in an effort to turn back an effort by one of its investors to take over the company.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Ford and General Motors both fell after Moody’s cut their debt ratings to junk status after the close of trade on Wednesday. Ford dropped 1 percent to $9.82, while GM lost 0.5 percent to $34.09.

Chain retailers Lowe’s and Best Buy did well on the day. Home improvement company Lowe’s was up 2.1 percent to $64.19, while home electronics retailer Best Buy added 2.9 percent to $46.75.

Japanese equity markets were down on Thursday as investors manifested concerns about high oil prices and the recent strong gains in shares of companies dependent on domestic demand.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.8 percent to 12,405,16, while the Topix index fell by 0.6 percent to 1,268.06. Sectors that do most of their business domestically fell the most on the day.

Banking was down 2.05 percent and real estate fell 1.5 percent, while services were down 0.95 percent and securities declined by 1.1 percent.

One of Japan’s largest securities firms, Daiwa Securities, were down 1.9 percent to ¥733. However, Japan’s largest securities company, Nomura, did go up by 0.4 percent to ¥1,515.

In the real estate sector, developer Mitsui Fudosan lost 2.2 percent to ¥1,406.

Shoe wholesaler and retailer ABC Mart was up by 11.4 percent to ¥4,879 on stronger than expected sales and an increase in its forecast of net profits.

Toymakers Takara and Tomy, which will merge next year, were both up, by 8.8 percent and 6.6 percent respectively.

The results of high oil prices ran the results on European equities markets on Thursday, even though crude oil prices retreated some from record high prices as the day progressed.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.7 percent to 1,172.57, its lowest close in three weeks.

Oil stocks were up early but gave up their gains later in the day, and shares in companies highly dependent on oil and oil products were down on the prospect of having to pay higher prices for those products.

In the oil sector, Total lost 1 percent to €207.30, while Repsol fell by 1.4 percent to €23.52 and Eni declined by 1.5 percent to €23.49.

Oil service group Saipem, however, gained 1.8 percent to €13.14 on an upgraded rating to “buy” from “neutral” from UBS.

Among oil-dependent companies, chemical group BASF lost 1.2 percent to €57.28.

In the automobile sector, Renault dropped 1.8 percent to €72.30, while Volkswagen was down 1.5 percent to €43.29.

The airlines were down as well, with Lufthansa losing 0.8 percent to €10.89 and Air France-KLM closing down 2.8 percent at €13.25.

Technology were also down on worries that higher energy costs would mean less money to spend elsewhere. Infineon lost 0.6 percent to €7.90, while STMicroelectronics was down 0.9 percent to €13.55 and ASML dropped 1.6 percent to €13.69.

Ericsson fell 2.3 percent to SKr25.60, and Nokia was down 1 percent to €12.67.

In London equities markets on Thursday, the indexes were lower as crude oil prices rose once again.

The FTSE 200 dropped 0.4 percent to 5,255.7 and the FTSE 250 was down by 0.3 percent to 7,679.1 on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded. Shares in companies that rely heavily on oil products were down.

British Airways fell 1.8 percent to 279 ½ p, while cruise operator Carnival lost 1 percent to £29.40.

Lloyds TSB traded nearly 70 million shares and was up by 4 percent at one point on the day as rumors floated that US bank Wells Fargo would acquire Lloyds, although Wells Fargo has not shown any inclination to acquire European banks. Lloyds ended the day up by 0.9 percent to 458¼p.

Also in the banking sector, the Royal Bank of Scotland lost 1.4 percent to £16.21 after ABN Amro repeated its rating of “reduce” on the bank.

In the leisure sector, Hilton declined by 2.3 percent to 298½p on the news that its Ladbrokes betting shops had sustained a recent series of bad results. In addition, Hilton reported that its hotels have seen falling demand, largely as a result of the July terrorist bombings in London. Still, the company’s interim profits were up.

Steelmaker Corus Group lost 1 percent to 44¼p despite higher interim profits, as it warned that third-quarter profits would be impacted by higher costs for raw materials and lower prices on its products.

The London equities markets were lower on Wednesday as the mining sector
declined and merger rumors swirled around a utility.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 percent to 5,275.2, while the FTSE 250 fell a fraction to 7,704.5 on a volume of 2.6 billion shares traded.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton lost 3.7 percent to 804p despite reporting record profits for the full year.

Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto lost 3.4 percent to £19.67, Anglo American dropped 2.7 percent to £13.74, and Antofagasta fell by 2.4 percent to £14.56.

Electric and gas utility Centrica was the focus of merger rumors, with several companies said to be interested in acquiring the company.

Most of the talk focused on Norwegian company Norsk Hydro after it admitted to having engaged in talks with Centrica earlier in the year.

Other names that were raised as possible suitors were Russian company Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, Gaz de France, and BG Group.

Analysts debated which companies might actually be thinking about buying Centrica and whether there were even any talks going on. Centrica would not comment, but its shares gained 3.8 percent to 252 ¾p.

Trade in the utility was heavy at 106 million shares traded on the day.

Higher oil prices managed to wipe out any early gains on the New York equities markets on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8 percent to 10,434.87, the Nasdaq composite ended up 0.4 percent lower at 2,128.91, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.7 percent on the day to close at 1,209.59.

The early gains had been in response to data showing record new-home sales in the US in July, and some home builders managed to hang on to their gains at the end of the session.

Beazer Homes was up 2.6 percent to $60.98, Pulte Homes added 1.6 percent to $84.84, and Centex rose by 0.9 percent to $66.13.

The restaurant industry saw losses on the day as worries continued that high gasoline prices are cutting into consumer spending.

Restaurant chain Applebee’s International lost 7 percent to $22.37 after it cut its 2005 earnings forecast and blamed it on high oil prices. Outback Steakhouse also was down on the day, falling 2 percent to $42.92, while Brinker International dropped 3 percent to $42.49.

Meanwhile, Google gained 1.1 percent to $282.57 when it announced its first venture into the internet telephone market.

The Tokyo equities exchanges were down Wednesday morning amid profit-taking after earlier gains.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.24 percent to 12,441.31, while the Topix index lost 0.35 percent to 1,267.59.

The steel sector as a whole lost 0.9 percent, and Nippon Steel lost 1.3 percent to ¥310.

Other sectors that saw losses included the insurance sector, down by 1.5 percent, the securities sector, which lost 1.2 percent, and the real estate sector, which declined by 1.1 percent.

The banking sector, which was a victim of profit taking before the other sectors, only fell by 0.3 percent.

There were sectors that saw gains, including retailers, which gained 0.1 percent, and the sea transport sector, which was up by 0.7 percent.

In the shipping sector, Mitsui OSK Lines gained 1 percent to ¥822 on a positive share outlook from UBS.

Camera maker Nikon lost 2.1 percent to ¥1,340 when Merrill Lynch lowered its rating from “buy” to “neutral”, saying that the company has neared its share price target and it cannot see any reason to raise that target.

Meanwhile, discount chain retailer Aoyama Trading gained 0.2 percent to ¥2,940 on the Osaka equities exchange.

The volume of shares traded was light on Wednesday as the European equities markets once again found themselves in negative territory. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.5 percent to 1,181.21.

The absence of any corporate news of interest and a dearth of investors due to August holidays left French motorway privatization in the spotlight, especially as speculation abounded over which groups were bidding for the companies being sold off.

Reports that French builder Vinci had offered €49 per share for Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF), the largest French motorway group, sent Vinci’s shares up 2.4 percent to €72. Vinci already owns 23 percent of ASF.

Meanwhile, shares in ASF fell 2.2 percent to €48.30 on the speculation.

Of the other two companies being sold, Autoroutes Paris Rhin Rhone (APRR) was even for the day at €52, while Societe des Autoroutes du Nord et l’Est de la France (Sanef) dropped 1.7 percent to €47.70.

Autostrade, of Italy, confirmed that it had made a bit for APRR and gained 1.8 percent to €21.99 after a rise of 2.6 percent on Tuesday.

Spain’s Abertis lost 0.1 percent to €20.98 after it said it had already made more than one bid for the road companies.

Elsewhere, Dutch brewer Heineken was down 0.3 percent to €26.08 after talks were abandoned in its effort to increase its holdings in Chinese beer maker Kingway Brewery.

Adidas-Salomon, which is in the process of acquiring Reebok, gained 0.8 percent to €144.74 after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein confirmed its rating of “buy” on the company’s stock on the basis that its share prices is too low.

DrKW said that they feel that the combined worth of Adidas-Reebok shares should be around €200 per share.

The New York equities markets fell on Tuesday in response to numbers showing the number of existing homes sold were below predictions even though the figures showed that the housing sector continues to prosper as the number of homes sold during the month was the third largest ever.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 percent to 10,519.58, the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2 percent to 2,137.25, and the S&P 500 declined by 0.3 percent to 1,217.58.

The news about housing sales sent shares in home builders down. KBH homes saw the biggest loss, declining by 1.7 percent to $70.96. Lennar fell 1.3 percent to $58.93, while Pulte Homes lost 0.8 percent to $83.48. The home furnishings sector was also down on the day. La-Z-Boy blamed rising oil prices as it announced that it expects second-quarter sales figures to be down as it fell 3 percent to $13.57. Ethan Allen Interiors lost 1.2 percent to $31.94, and Furniture Brands International also lost 1.2 percent to end the day at $19.27.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mostly up, except for Merck, which fell by 1.2 percent as it still was feeling the effects of the personal-injury judgment against the company on Friday. Elsewhere, the sector did not seem to be bothered by Merck’s troubles. Amylin Pharmaceuticals was up 27.7 percent to $28 on the announcement that test results were positive for a weekly injection treatment for type 2 diabetes patients. Eli Lilly, which helped develop the drug with Amylin, was up 1.9 percent to $53.72, while Alkermes, which developed the injection system that will be used with the drug, added 11.6 percent to $17.67.

Morning trading on the Tokyo equities markets sent stocks higher, so that by midday, the Nikkei 225 had risen by 0.9 percent to 12,569.99, while the Topix index had gained 0.8 percent to 1,280.36.

The gains were seen in many sectors. Advertiser Dentsu, Japan’s biggest, added 3.2 percent to ¥288,000 even thought it announced an 11 percent decline in its quarterly operating profit on Monday.

The steel sector was also up. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing gained 2.6 percent to ¥1,676 as it announced price increases for September, while Nippon Steel was up 1.3 percent to ¥318.

Video game maker Square Enix added 3.5 percent to ¥3,100 on the announcement that it would bid for game machine manufacturer Taito. Taito’s shares were up by 12.4 percent to ¥181,000 on the news.

In other sectors, camera and copier maker Canon was up 1.4 percent to ¥5,650, securities firm Nomura gained 2.2 percent to ¥1,539, and supermarket chain Ito-Yokado added 4.5 percent to ¥4,150.

The banking sector, however, saw losses as Mizuho declined by 0.2 percent to ¥594,000.

The London equity markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 falling by 0.3 percent at the close to 5,300.2 even as the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end the session at 7,707.4 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

British Airways lost 1.6 percent to 285 ¼p as analysts began to assess the damages to the air carrier incurred by the caterer’s walkout at Heathrow airport. One analyst said that BA could have its profits for the year cut by as much as £40 million.

Rolls Royce lost 0.1 percent to 341 ¼p after the announcement that it had won a joint contract worth $2.4 billion in conjunction with General Electric to develop new engines for the joint strike fighter, becoming part of the costliest military project in history.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Acambis gained 4.1 percent to 255p on the announcement that it has successfully concluded phase II trials on a treatment for Japanese Encephalitis.

In the mining sector, Antofagasta added 1.5 percent to £14.91 on the possibility of more merger and acquisition activity involving the Chilean miner in the wake of the death last week of its former chairman and largest shareholder. Another factor in the company’s advance was the raised interim profits forecasts for 2006, up 43 percent to $341 million due to record copper prices.

Volumes were light on European equities markets on Tuesday as many investors took summer holidays and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.6 percent to 1,186.73.

The pharmaceuticals sector was still feeling the fallout from last Friday’s jury verdict against Merck in the first Vioxx case to reach the US courts. Novo Nordisk lost 1.5 percent to DKr323.50 after a US rival reported success in clinical trials of a diabetes drug, which caused concerns that Novo Nordisk’s development of a similar product might be undermined.

Elsewhere in the sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1.6 percent to €70.65 and Novartis and Roche each declined by 1.1 percent. Novartis ended the session at SFr61.65, while Roche settled at SFr173.60.

Oil prices caused declines in both the oil sector and in sectors which use a great deal of oil products. In the oil sector, Eni dropped 2.1 percent to €23.47, Total lost 1.2 percent to €208.30, and Repsol YPF declined by
1 percent to €23.86.

Most companies in the automobile manufacturing sector were also down on the day. The exception was Fiat, which closed up 2.8 percent to €7.446 on the heels of Monday’s 3.3 percent gain. Elsewhere in the sector, Peugeot lost 1.2 percent to €51.80, DaimlerChrysler fell 1.3 percent to €42.14, Porsche closed 1.9 percent lower at €643.22.

In the airlines sector, Air France lost 2.4 percent to €13.62 and Lufthansa closed even at €11.09 after recovering from a decline earlier in the day.

The New York equities markets had a positive day on Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1 percent to 10,570.53, the S&P 500 ended the day with an increase of 0.2 percent to 1,221.79, and the Nasdaq index rose by 0.3 percent to 2,141.44.

The news was not good for everyone, however, as Merck continued its slide begun Friday with the announcement of a jury verdict against the company in the case of a man who died after taking their pain killer Vioxx. Merck dropped 0.6 percent to $27.89, bringing its two-day decline to nearly 8.3 percent.

In the semiconductor sector, Texas Instruments gained 2.5 percent to $31.95 and Intel added 1.6 percent to $26.06. Many of the gains on the day came in relation to news on mergers and acquisitions.

Canadian-owned oil producer PetroKazakhstan gained 18.4 percent to $53.75 after it accepted an offer by the China National Petroleum Corporation, which offered $55 per share for the company.

Shares in Evetech Pharmaceuticals gained 29.6 percent to $18.13 after OSI Pharmaceuticals agreed to purchase Evetech for around $935 million. The purchase didn’t help OSI, however, which saw its shares declined by 21.7 percent to $31.92.

The news that Maytag and Whirlpool had signed a formal agreement for Whirlpool to acquire Maytag did not help shares in those companies, either. Maytag lost 0.1 percent to $18.69 and Whirlpool declined by 0.4 percent to $81.48.

Japanese equities markets were up on Monday morning, as the Nikkei 225 gained 0.8 percent to 12,390.66 and the Topix index rose by 0.9 percent to 1,261.21 on continuing optimism about the direction of the economy and as investors bought into domestically-oriented companies.

Sanrio, the maker of the Hello Kitty brand was up 3.5 percent to ¥1,182 on a positive quarterly earnings report.

The oil sector advanced on higher crude oil prices but those same high prices did not seem to bother companies that use a lot of oil. Nippon Oil, Japan’s largest distributor of oil, gained 1.1 percent to ¥858, which Japan’s largest shipper, Nippon Yusen, gained 0.6 percent. The sea transport sector as a whole was up 1.4 percent, and stocks in air transport companies gained 0.7 percent.

Banking, insurance, and real estate were also up, with the banking sector as a whole up 2.4 percent, while real estate and insurance each rose by 1.2 percent.

Online broker Monex Beans added 3.9 percent to ¥133,000. Japan’s largest banking group, Mizuho, gained 3.6 percent to ¥580,000, and insurer NipponKoa was up by 1 percent to ¥793.

Good performance early in the US equities market helped European equities
markets to gains on Monday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.05 percent to
1,194.42.

In the pharmaceutical sector, GlaxoSmithKline’s fall of 0.8 percent in London sent European drug makers down as well. Sanofi-Aventis lost 1.2 percent to €71.80, and Novartis dropped 1 percent to SFr62.35, while Schering fell 0.6 percent to €52.61. The fall of GSK, in turn, came partly on a jury decision against Merck involving the death of a patient using Vioxx.

The automobile manufacturing sector was up, led by Fiat, which gained 3.3 percent to €7.2450. The company has a €3 billion loan which comes due in September, and if it cannot pay cash, the banks which extended the loan must convert it into equity, which would leave them owning about one-fourth of the company, more than is owned by Fiat’s founding family. Elsewhere in the sector, Volkswagen gained 1.9 percent to €44.85, and DaimlerChrysler and Peugot each added 1.2 percent, with shares in DaimlerChrysler sitting at €42.69 and shares in Peugot at €52.40.

Meanwhile, Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods company Unilever gained 1.5 percent to €57.25 on speculation that some of its frozen foods brands might be sold.

In what is traditionally a quiet week on the equities markets, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.1 percent to 5,318.4 on Monday, while the FTSE 250 was up by 0.4 percent to 7,691.7 on a low volume of 1.9 billion shares traded.

The mining sector was up on higher prices for copper. BHP Billiton gained 3.1 percent to 844 ½p on an expectation that its earnings statement, to be released on Wednesday, would be positive and on an increase in its rating by Numis Securities from “hold” to “add”.

Elsewhere in the sector, Antofagasta gained 3 percent to £14.69 and Rio Tinto added 2.9 percent to £20.49.

The decision on Friday by an American jury to hold pharmaceutical company Merck responsible for the death of a man who used its pain killer Vioxx had an effect on the rest of the sector as Shire Pharmaceutical lost 0.9 percent to 675 ½p and GlaxoSmithKline declined by 0.8 percent to £13.35.

Besides the news of the Merck verdict, GSK was also hurt by a report that its drug Paxil has been linked a survey by Oslo University that showed an increase of suicide attempts in adults who use the drug.

In the energy sector, mid-cap gas and oil company Soco International added 11.6 percent to 781p on the announcement that oil has been found at the Te Giac Trang site in Vietnam, in which it holds a 28 percent share.

In Tokyo on Friday, equities markets were down on profit taking even while they remained close to four-year highs and with no real evidence that they had been affected much by global economic worries. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 percent on the day to 12,291.73 and the Topix index was down by 0.2 percent to 1,250.50.

The automobile manufacturing sector fell by 0.3 percent as a whole, with Toyota down 0.7 percent to ¥4,360.

The steel sector, up most of the week on strong worldwide demand, was down by 0.9 percent. Nippon Steel lost 1.3 percent to ¥305.

Retailers were down as well, by 0.6 percent as supermarket chain Ito-Yokado lost 1.3 percent, to ¥3,930.

Machinery sectors were down, as well, with the precision machinery sector down by 1.4 percent and the general machinery sector falling even father, by 0.6 percent.

There were gainers on the day, as two vehicle-related companies anticipated technological advances. Mitsubishi Motors gained 3.5 percent to ¥147 on reports that it will launch its first electric vehicles in 2008 rather than in 2010 even though the company denied those stories.

Fuji Heavy Industries, which makes Subaru automobiles, announced that it would debut a vehicle using a lithium battery in the 2007-2008 model year. The announcement sent shares in the company up 3.7 percent to ¥500.

Equity markets in London finished the day higher on Friday, but were down for the week as a whole. The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.8 percent at 5,312.6, but was down by 0.6 percent for the week. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 gained 0.6 percent on the day to close at 7,665.0 but saw an over all loss of 0.5 percent on the week.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Cable & Wireless, which was the focal point of takeover moves and countermoves, dropped 4.1 percent for the week to 154 ¼p although it began the week at its highest level since July of 2002. Vodafone, on the other hand, was up 4 percent on the week to 154 ¾p, and O2 gained 3 percent on the week to hit an all-time high of 154p. Oil producers and explorers saw gains on the week.

Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares were up 1.4 percent on the week to £18.66, while BP also added 1.4 percent to 632p. Paladin Resources was up 3.6 percent to 281 ½p, Tullow Oil gained 2.8 percent to 205 ½p, while Cairn Energy added 1.8 percent to £17.11.

In European equity markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw a 1 percent rise on
Friday to end the week up by 0.1 percent to 1,194.47.

The energy sector was a big loser on the week amid indications that high crude oil prices were starting to affect consumer prices. This raised concerns that economic growth could be harmed if prices continued to remain high.

Austrian company OMV dropped 4.8 percent on the week to €38.80, Neste Oil of Sweden lost 3.4 percent to €24.20, and oilfield services company Saipem dropped 2.1 percent to €12.87.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Two Greek companies both saw advances on the week. OTE was up 5.4 percent to €17.84, while Cosmote Mobile added 4.5 percent to €16.76. On the other hand, Deutsche Telekom lost 1.9 percent to €15.69 around issue of its interest in bidding for UK company O2.

The biggest loser on the week on the Eurofirst was Adecco, the Swiss recruitment agency, which fell 7 percent to SFr61.

Wall Street saw little movement at all on Friday as both the Dow Jones
Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite stayed all but unchanged on the day, and the S&P 500 saw only a slight gain.

The Dow closed flat at 10,559.23 as did the Nasdaq, ending the day at 2,136.73. The S&P gained 0.1 percent to close at 1,219.71. Over the week, all three indexes ended on the losing side, as the Dow fell by 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq dropped 1.0 percent, and the S&P declined by 0.9 percent.

Several sectors saw declines on the week. While computer maker Hewlett Packard saw a gain of 10.2 percent on the week to $26.49, others in the sector were not so successful. Gateway dropped 16.8 percent to $3.17, Dell lost 0.6 percent to $36.41, and Apple Computer declined by 0.6 percent as well, to $45.83.

Clothing retailers had a rough time of it as well. Gap lost 8.7 percent on the week, while Hot Topic fell 14.1 percent to $14.12. Both were down on disappointing quarterly reports. On the winning side, Six Flags was up by 18.8 percent to $6.45 on the week after its largest investor said that he wanted to triple his investment in the company.

The New York equities markets were mixed but generally lower on Thursday on light trade volumes and concerns about crude oil prices as one analyst said that since September 11, 2001, investors have had one thing after another to worry about.

At the close of the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was very close to its Wednesday close at 10,552.46, while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 2,135.99 and the S&P 500 settled down by 0.1 percent to 1,218.72.

One of the biggest gainers on the day was Six Flags, the amusement park operator, which gained 18 percent to $6.48 when it’s largest investor announced that he wanted to triple his amount of shares in the company.

While Google announced that it will issue 14.2 million shares of its class A stock for sale, said to be worth around $4 billion, the internet search company’s shares were down 1.8 percent on the day to $279.99.

In the retail clothing sector, meanwhile, J. Crew announced that it will launch an initial public offering to raise $200 million. Elsewhere in the sector, Gap released its quarterly earnings report. In response, its shares lost 1.6 percent to $20.15.

Hot Topic, which sells teenage clothing, cut its forecasts for the third and fourth quarters after falling short of expectations in the second quarter. It lost 10.6 percent on the day to close at $14.14.

London equities markets were down on the day Thursday, the sixth straight session of losses, in what one analyst called a correction phase.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent on the day to 4,269.3 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.5 percent to 7,619.8 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

The oil sector was down and the telecommunications sector was mixed on the day. In the oil sector, BP was down by 2 percent to 624p, Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares fell 2.3 percent to £18.40, and BG Group declined by 2.6 percent to 494 ¼p.

Telecommunications firms also fell substantially, with Cable & Wireless down by 1.3 percent to 154 ¼p on a downgrade to “underweight” by Lehman Brothers. Mobile phone group O2, however, gained 1.5 percent to 149p on the continued perception that it is a target for takeover.

On the side of the gainers, Shire Pharmaceuticals was up 6.5 percent to 681p on talk that it might make some sort of arrangement with Barr Pharmaceuticals of the US, which wants to make its own version of the drug Adderall. Barr was scheduled to take the case to court in the US next year, but speculation is that the two companies have reached some kind of licensing agreement.

Elsewhere in the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline was up 1.5 percent to £13.38 on an upgrade from JP Morgan.

In European equities markets on Thursday, oil stocks were down on falling oil prices and concerns that if energy costs remain high they could cause the economy to slow.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.3 percent to 1,182.38 at the close of the trading day.

While still very high, oil prices hit their lowest level in two weeks. In reaction OMV, the Austrian oil company, declined by 4.3 percent to €37.86, Italy’s Eni lost 1.3 percent to €23.40, French oil company Total fell 1.2 percent to €206.90, and Neste Oil of Finland dropped 0.8 percent to €23.81.

High oil prices were not just responsible for declines in the oil sector, though. They were said to be at least partially to blame for Ciba Specialty Chemicals’ 20 percent decline in second-quarter net profits to SFr79 million.

While those results were better than had been expected, the chemicals company cut its outlook for the full year. The news sent shares in the company down 2.5 percent on the day to SFr7.00.

Insurers were also down on the day. Zurich Financial fell on profit-taking after announcing a 21 percent rise in net profits in the second quarter, a better result than expected. Shares in the company fell 1.5 percent on the day to SFr231, but are still up 24 percent since the beginning of the year.

Elsewhere in the sector, German insurer Allianz lost 1.2 percent to €107.45, while French company AXA declined by 0.5 percent to €22.35.

New York equities markets were up at the end of the session on Wednesday, helped by good performance in the computer and chip making sector and falling oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 percent to 10,550.71, the Nasdaq composite also rose by 0.4 percent, to 2,145.15, and the S&P 500 was up by 0.1 percent to 1,220.24.

Hewlett-Packard gained 13.2 percent to $26.82 on news that the company has seen sales and profits rise above expectations under its new chief executive. HP’s performance helped other computer companies and chip makers to rally as well.

Dell was up 0.6 percent to $36.92, Apple gained 2 percent to $47.15, and Gateway was up 5.5 percent to $3.28 even though it announced on Monday that it was cutting its revenue and profits estimates for the full year.

Meanwhile, the fall in oil prices provided investors with a psychological, as one analyst commented, but didn’t do much good for the oil companies themselves. Chevron, for example, was down by 1.4 percent on the day to $59.84.

Fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch lost 3.9 percent to $58.85 on a quarterly earnings report that showed it had not reached analyst estimates. Merrill Lynch warned that retail stocks could fall well into September as high oil prices and rising interest rates affect consumer spending.

Uncertainties about high oil prices that are affecting consumer prices in the US sent equities markets in Tokyo down on Wednesday.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3 percent at the close to 12,272.12, while the Topix fell 0.2 percent to 1,250.10.

During the recent rise in oil prices, most analysts have de-emphasized the possible effect of the hikes on the Japanese economy on the theory that Japan uses much less energy than other developed nations.

Now, however, it is not just export-dependent companies that are being affected by higher oil prices. With Japanese gasoline prices hitting a 12-year high recently, there is some worry that domestic demand in other sectors will be affected.

On this worry, both retailers and the real estate sector fell by 0.4 percent on the day. Leading supermarket chain Ito-Yokado lost 1 percent to ¥3,970.

The banking sector was up, however, on continuing general optimism about the recovery of the Japanese economy even though Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday that it might lower the sector’s rating to “underweight”. Banking group Mizuho gained 0.7 percent to ¥547.000.

European equities fell for the fifth day in a row as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.2 percent to 1,186.10 at the close of trade on Wednesday.

Staffing group Adecco, the world’s largest, fell 5.9 percent on the day to SF461.80 for the worst performance by a blue-chip company after a report of second-quarter profits that were in line with predictions.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein repeated its rating of “reduce” on the company’s shares and kept its target price at SFr57 per share after Adecco had to drop its gross margin target for the year due to bad conditions in its French market.

Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML gained 2.6 percent to €14.20 after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein reiterated its “buy” rating and said that expectations for orders to the company in the second half are too low. Infineon was also up on the day, by 2.6 percent to €7.77, and STMicroelectronics added 2 percent to €13.76.

Elsewhere, Nestle lost 1.2 percent on the day to SFr353.75 even though profits and sales in the first half were above predictions as commodity prices held margins below what had been hoped for.

In London on Wednesday, the equities markets saw their fifth day in a row of negative figures at the close of trade as the Bank of England released the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.

The banking and insurance sectors took the implication of the report, that there would not be another interest rate cut soon, especially badly. Overall, the FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent to close at 5,292.7, while the FTSE 250 declined by 0.6 percent as well, to 7,654.5 at the close. In banking and insurance, Royal Sun Alliance was down 2.3 percent to 94 ¼p, Barclays lost 2.1 percent to 563p, Aviva declined by 2.4 percent to 621 ½p, and Prudential fell 1.7 percent to 514 ½p.

The telecommunications sector did somewhat better as Vodafone gained 0.7 percent to 151 p, BT added 1.8 percent to 220 ¾p, O2 added 2.8 percent to 146 ¾p, and Colt-Telecom gained 3.7 percent to 62 ½p.

The airline sector was mixed. British Airways fell 2 percent to 385 ¾p as its labor dispute continued. EasyJet, however, was up 1.3 percent to 299p after it announced it would save £10 million for the year as a result of a 10-year maintenance deal with Swiss firm SR Technics worth $1 billion.

Mining companies were down for the second day in a row as copper prices continued to fall. BHP Billiton lost 2.9 percent to 813p, Anglo American declined by 2.8 percent to £14.11, Rio Tinto fell 2.6 percent to £19.85, while Antofagasta dropped 1.8 percent to £14.04.

New York equities markets were down substantially on Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.14 percent to 10,513.45, the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.38 percent to 2,137.06, and the S&P 500 lost 1.18 percent to 1,219.34.

Shares in Wal-Mart were down by more than 3.3 percent at mid-afternoon to $47.50 on the news that while second quarter earnings had risen by 6 percent , the third-quarter outlook was not as good. The world’s largest retailer blamed this assessment on rising oil prices.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Home Depot and Staples both reported much higher sales in the second quarter. Home Depot said it experienced a 20 percent rise in sales and a same-store sales increase of 4 percent. Office goods retailer Staples also said their sales were up 20 percent in the quarter, 1 percent better than analysts thought they would do. Still, shares in both companies were down. Home Depot lost 1.4 percent to $41.04, while Staples declined by 2.1 percent to $21.85.

In the airline sector, the Amex airline index gained 3.4 percent, its first increase after 11 straight declining sessions. Delta Air Lines gained 9.4 percent to $1.52, Northwest Airlines added 10.6 percent to $4.61, and SkyWest was up 11 percent to $24.46.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to 1,188.70 on Tuesday as the telecommunications sector was mostly down and oil sector had a negative day.

French media group Vivendi Universal gained 1 percent to €26.12 on the news that its Cegatel telecommunications unit has been given provisional permission to merge with its rival Neuf Telecom by the French finance ministry.

Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Telekom lost 1.4 percent to €15.77 and KPN was down 1.3 percent to €7.34 on the announcement that they are no longer talking about a merger with UK mobile company O2. France Telecom declined by 0.5 percent to €25.15 even though it kept its “outperform” rating from CSFB.

In the oil sector, losses were primarily due to slight declines in crude oil prices. Royal Dutch Shell was down 1.1 percent to €26.80, Eni lost 1.4 percent to €23.86, and Total declined by 1.6 percent to €208.80. Neste Oil was down 3.3 percent to €23.80, Statoil lost 2.3 percent to NKr49.50, and Norsk Hydro fell 1.8 percent to NKr646.

Despite these losses, the oil and gas sector as a while is still 30 percent higher than it was a the beginning of the year. Despite climbing oil prices, Finair gained 8.5 percent on the day to €8.08. Finair is up more than 40 percent since January.

In London on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 lost 0.4 percent to 5,322.3 and the FTSE 250 was down 0.1 percent to 7,697.0 on a volume of 2.8 billion shares traded.

The biggest loser of the day on the FTSE 100 was Cable and Wireless, on concerns that it is paying too much for Energis, its smaller rival.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, O2 lost 2.6 percent to 142 ¾p after it was confirmed that Deutsche Telekom and KPN would not bid for the mobile phone group. It was a surprise to some analysts that O2 was up after the announcement, as speculation on a possible merger had been driving its gains since the beginning of the year.

Logistics group Exel gained 0.9 percent to 995 ½p on rumors that a bid for the company would come soon. Gains had been higher earlier in the day, but slipped back as the talk diminished during the session UPS and Deutsche Post have both been mentioned as being interested in Exel.

Insurer Royal & Sun Alliance also benefited from rumors of a bid on the company, gaining 4 percent to 96 ½p, the best performance on the FTSE 100 on the day.

In Japan on Tuesday both the Nikkei and Topix indices reached 4-year closing highs as optimism about economic recovery continues. Even a damaging earthquake in the northern part of Honshu did not cause much disruption. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.5 percent to 12,315.67, while the Topix index gained 0.3 percent to 1,252.12.

Companies that deal with commodities were down on profit-taking after gains in the prices of oil and copper. Nippon Oil was down 0.7 percent to ¥878, while Nippon Mining, which has interest in both copper mining and oil, fell by 1.6 percent to ¥728.

Banking was also down. Japan’s largest banking group, Mizuho, closed down 1.4 percent at ¥543,000.

The steel sector was up, with Nippon Steel gaining 1.3 percent to ¥305 and Tokyo Steel Manufacturing added 1.5 percent to ¥1,498. Gains in the steel sector had to do with the announcement on Monday that Nippon Steel is planning on buying new equipment to deal with higher demand.

Aerial photography survey company Pasco was up 13 percent to ¥305 after Tuesday’s earthquake and the announcement that Pasco will launch a computer-based map service in September.

Robot-maker Fanuc gained 4.6 percent to ¥8,220 after securities firm CLSA said that the company benefited from higher robot orders from North America in the first half of the year.

New York equities markets were up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 all saw gains by the end of the day.

The Dow ended the day up 0.3 percent to 10,634.38, while the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent to close at 2,167.04 and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,233.87. Oil prices that fell slightly helped the gains.

In the media sector, there were rumors that Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, might be for sale. Shares in Dow Jones were up by as much as 15 percent during the day, but closed lower than that but at a gain for the day of 11 percent to $41.14. Time Warner added 1.4 percent to $18.50 on the news that four investors are planning to pressure the company’s board of directors to buy back $20 billion in stock and spin off its cable business.

In the airlines sector, unconfirmed reports in the New York Times that Delta Air Lines was arranging financing for bankruptcy protection sent the air carrier’s stocks plummeting 13.7 percent.

In Tokyo on Monday, the Topix index had its highest close since July 2001 as it gained 0.3 percent to 1,248.77. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 percent on the day to a closing level of 12,256.55.

Still, the Nikkei was not far from the four-year high it reached last week. Commodity producers were up due to higher market prices and strong demand.

Nippon Steel was up after it said it would spend money on new equipment made necessary by growing demand, gaining 2.7 percent to ¥301. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing was also up, by 1 percent to ¥1,476. Rising copper prices led to gains by companies with interests in copper.

Mitsubishi Materials, for example, gained 3.1 percent to ¥329. Oil prices, up to record highs at the end of last week, helped the oil sector to gains. AOC holdings was up 1.2 percent to ¥2,020. Nippon Mining, with interests in both oil and copper, also saw a gain, adding 2.5 percent to ¥740.

The banking and securities sector continued to do well on new optimizing about growth in the Japanese economy. Brokerage firm Nomura was up 0.7 percent to ¥1,486.

Automobile manufacturers, however, were down on the day after Friday’s news of dips in US consumer sentiment. Honda lost 2.1 percent to ¥5,640 and Toyota declined by 1.1 percent to ¥4,330.

European equities markets ended the day relatively even as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed at 1,192.46 as a number of markets were closed for the observance of Assumption Day.

In the banking sector, Commerzbank lost some of its recent gains on the news that its chief executive has come under investigation in an ongoing money laundering inquiry involving the bank, losing 0.8 percent to €20.93.

The automobile manufacturing sector was down on the day as well, as BMW fell by 0.9 percent to €36.42 and Peugeot lost 0.8 percent to €51.90. Michelin was down 0.9 percent to €51.40. In the chemicals sector, Bayer lost 1 percent to €29.36 and specialty chemicals group Clariant declined by 0.8 percent to SFr18.70.

The largest pharmaceuticals wholesaler in Europe, Celesio, lost 2.9 percent to €69.01 on profit-taking after recent gains. In mergers and acquisitions, Philips Electronics was up 0.6 percent to €21.64 after it announced that it would pay around €765 million to buy a 47 percent stake in LED company Lumileds from Agilent Technologies. Philips also announced that it would buy back around €1.5 billion of its own shares in the next year.

In London on Monday, the FTSE 100 was down by 1.6 points to 5,344.2 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.8 points to 7,706. Volume was low at 2.1 billion shares as many investors were paying as much attention to cricket as they were to business.

Mergers and acquisitions gained a good bit of attention as well. Mining group Xstrata was up by 6.2 percent to reach an all-time high of £13.52 on the announcement that it has purchased 19.5 percent of Falconbridge, which is the third-largest nickel and zinc company in the world, for $1.7 billion. Also in the mining sector, copper miner Antofagasta gained 2.5 percent to £14.73.

In the telecommunications sector, Cable and Wireless was up 1.2 percent to 163p as it battled the smaller Thus to take control of the privately owned Energis. However, C&W said that it would not increase its bid package under any circumstances.

Also in the telecommunications sector, Vodaphone gained 1.2 percent to 150 ½p after JP Morgan said it was trading at too low a price in comparison to its competitors.

In New York on Friday, the equities markets were down on the day as the felt the effect of crude oil prices that continue to climb as well as disappointing quarterly news from Dell.

The computer manufacturer released its quarterly earnings report after the close of trading on Thursday, saying that it missed predictions even though earnings were up to $0.41 per share, from $0.31 in the same quarter last year.

Shares in Dell were down 7.9 percent to $36.45 before the trading day began on Friday. Other computer makers were also down during the day, including Hewlett-Packard, which was down 1.5 percent in early-day trading to $23.83. Apple also lost ground during the day, losing 0.8 percent to $43.63.

By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.80 percent to 10,600,31, the Nasdaq composite had declined by 0.81 percent to 2,156.90, and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.60 percent to 1,230.39.

In Europe on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 500 fell by 0.3 percent to 1,192.75, but it still managed to post a gain of 1.6 percent on the week and reached its highest level since May 2002 on Wednesday.

Oil stocks were some of the biggest performers of the week, riding rising oil prices to their gains. Neste Oil gained 8.5 percent on the week to €25, while OMV added 5.8 percent to €40.75.

The best performer of the week, however, was in the utilities sector, as Suez gained 12 percent for the week to €24.59 as it announced that it would buy out the portion of Electrabel, the Belgian electricity supplier, that it does not already own.

Electrabel saw a gain of 7 percent to €415.60 on the news even though the cash-and-shares deal will have to gain support from both shareholders and the government in Belgium.

Another big winner on the week was Commerzbank, Germany’s third largest bank, on rumors that both Santander Central Hispano in Spain and BNP Paribas are both interested in bidding for the bank. Even though neither institution would confirm such plans, Commerzbank still gained 7.2 percent to €21.09 on the week.

The Tokyo equities markets were mixed on very little movement on Friday, as the Nikkei 225 closed down just 0.1 percent to 12,261.68 and the Topic gained 0.11 percent to close at 1,245.13.

The volume of shares traded hit a comparatively high 1.9 billion shares. Advances in the financial sector were balanced by losses by exporters and oil-related companies. The banking and securities sectors both saw gains on the day.

Equities broker Nomura Securities was up 1 percent to ¥1,475, while Nikko Cordial led gains in the sector when it added 1.3 percent to ¥549.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial group gained 3.1 percent to ¥837,000, MTFG was up 2 percent to ¥1,030,000, and Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.5 percent to ¥539,000.

Exporters, however, fell on the day. Honda and Canon, both of which sell nearly 75 percent of their goods in foreign markets, both lost 0.5 percent on the day, with Honda closing at ¥5,750 and Canon finishing up the day at ¥5,470. Sony, also highly dependent on foreign sales, lost 1.8 percent to ¥3,370.

In the oil sector, profit taking sent shares down and the sector as a whole lost 0.5 percent on the day. Inpex, the oil and gas explorer lost 2.9 percent on Friday to ¥826,000 after gains of 12 percent over the past two days.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 5,345.8, but it saw a gain on the week of 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 gained 0.1 percent on Friday to close at 7,705.8, notching an 0.3 percent gain on the week. Trade volume for the day reached 2.4 billion shares.

Mobile phone group O2 traded 130 million shares on the day, gaining 2.8 percent to a record high of 149 ½p on rumors that a consortium might offer 175p to 180p per share for the company. Rumors of takeover bids have centered on Dutch group KPN, Telefonica, and Deutsche Telekom, but all the named companies have disavowed the reports.

British Airways lost 0.8 percent to 290p on their need to cancel flights due to a dispute with contractors at Heathrow airport.

Oil shares fell despite continuing advances in the price of crude oil. Royal Dutch Shell “B” shares declined by 1.1 percent to £19.23. Meanwhile, oil exploration company Burren Energy lost 7.5 percent to 756 ½p on the news that it has agreed to reduce its stake in the M’Boundi oil field and exploration rights to the Kouilou permit are in the Congo, trading 10 percent of its 35 percent interest in the concern to SNPC, the state-owned oil company in the Congo, for $35 million. Oriel Securities cut Burren’s rating to “reduce” on the appearance that SNPC was getting the concession at a discount.

Fund manager Schroders gained 2.3 percent to 898.5p on reports that it will raise over $370 million in association with China’s Bank of Communications for the first fund of their joint venture in asset management.

The New York equities markets ended the day higher on Thursday despite crude oil prices that hit record levels Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day ahead by 0.9 percent at 10,685.89, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 percent to 2,174.55, and the S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent at 1,237.81.

The rise in oil prices didn’t help Delta Air Lines, which has been trying to avoid entering bankruptcy. Despite announcing that it will add larger aircraft on it’s New York to Boston and Washington shuttle routes, Delta lost 6.8 percent on the day to $1.79 amid expectations that it will file for bankruptcy soon.

Tivo fell 6.2 percent to $5.62 on the announcement by DirecTV Group that it will quit marketing Tivo digital video recorders this year and replace them with alternate technology from News Corp, which owns 34 percent of DirecTV. DirecTV’s shares fell slightly on the news, to $16.18.

News Corp itself gained 3.4 percent on the day to $18.03 after it announced a jump of 67 percent in its quarterly profits. Yahoo gained 2.2 percent to $34.94 after it said it would pay $1 billion in cash and trade its operations in China in exchange for 40 percent of Alibaba.com, the second-biggest internet auctioneer in China.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel dropped 0.2 percent on a downgrade to “in-line” by Goldman Sachs.

In Europe on Thursday, profit-taking send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down a bit from earlier three-year highs. The Eurofirst lost 0.3 percent to 1,195.9.

The technology sector fell on the news that US telecommunications equipment manufacturer Cisco lost value on a negative growth forecast and by reports of weaker sales of semiconductors in Germany.

German chipmaker Infineon lost 4.2 percent to €7.78. In addition, Finnish mobile phone operator Nokia was down 2.4 percent to €13.15 and STMicroelectronics declined by 2.1 percent to €13.76. The insurance sector was mostly down.

The exception was Dutch insurer Aegon, which announced second quarter profits that were up 71 percent and ended the day having gained 0.7 percent to €12.07.

Elsewhere, ING lost 2.2 percent to €24.56 on a drop of 6.7 in second quarter profits although they exceeded market expectations. CNP lost 2.5 percent to €56.15 and Sampo was down to €13.02, a loss of 2.3 percent.

Crude oil prices at record high levels sent the oil sector higher. Neste Oil added 3.9 percent to €24.50, Statoil gained 1.5 percent to NKr151.50, and Norsk Hydro was up 1.4 percent to NKr662.

The London equities markets were down on Thursday as insurance companies fell on warnings weak margins. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,358.6, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.5 percent to 7,695.3 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded.

Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurance company, was down by 2 percent to 644p even though it reported results at the high end of expectations, as it issued a warning that margins in the UK life insurance sector were weak and as analysts said that the company was feeling some pressure to increase volume.

Royal & Sun Alliance fell even more, by 2.1 percent, to 92p as profit taking followed interim earnings results that met expectations. Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential lost 2.2 percent to 525p and Legal & General declined by 1.1 percent to 110 ½p.

In other sectors, British Airways was down 1.3 percent to 292 ¼p after it had to suspend check-ins at Heathrow in a dispute between the air carrier and a caterer.

Defense group BAE Systems gained 1 percent to 332p on an upgrade to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. More than 81 million shares in BAE were traded when Morgan Stanley placed over 30 million shares at 325 per share.

The mobile phone sector was higher after Morgan Stanley advised investors to put their money in Vodafone and O2 rather than in fixed-line company BT Group. O2 gained 0.9 percent to 145 ½p and Vodafone was up 0.5 percent to 147 ¾p.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the equities markets closed at four-year highs on continuing indications that the economy was continuing its recovery.

The Nikkei and Topix indexes were both higher for the fourth day in a row as the Nikkei 225 ended the session up 1.37 percent at 12,226.32 and the Topix added 1.29 percent to 1,243.74.

Insurance, banks, and securities brokers were all up on the day. The insurance sub-index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 6.3 percent as Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance gained 8.8 percent to ¥1,147 on strong income in their first quarter.

Sompo Japan added 8 percent to ¥1,210 and Nippon Koa was up 3.3 percent to ¥777. All saw strong interest from foreign investors.

The banking sub-index saw a 3.7 percent rise on the day. SMFG was up 6.6 percent to ¥812,000, MTFG gained 3.5 percent to ¥1,010,000, while Mizuho Financial Group added 3.1 percent to ¥531,000.

The securities sub-index was up 3.7 percent. Diawa Securities gained 1.6 percent to ¥722, Nomura Securities, Japan’s largest broker, was up 2.7 percent to ¥1,460, and Nikko Cordial rose by 4 percent to ¥542 as it announced plans to return 50 percent of its annual recurring profits as dividends.

New gains in crude oil prices sent the oil and coal sub-index up 3.2 percent. Nippon Oil gained 4.7 percent to ¥873, while Inpex added 3 percent to ¥851,000.

The London equities markets closed in positive territory on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent to 5,377.5 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.4 percent to 7,734.6 on a volume of 2.8 billion shares traded.

Life assurers saw advances in share value. South Africa-based life assurers Old Mutual gained 2.5 percent to 134p on better-than expected first half results and a forecast that its strong performance will last through the year.

Aviv was up as well, by 2.2 percent to 657p, ahead of its first-half report and on confirmation that Lord Sharman was coming aboard as its new chairman.

Mobile phone company Vodafone gained 0.3 percent on the day to 147p on an assessment by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein that investors were not taking note of rising valuations of Japanese companies and the improvement in Vodafone’s operations in Japan.

Banks didn’t do as well, as Lloyds TSB lost 1.8 percent to 474p, Royal Bank of Scotland dropped 0.9 percent to £16.05, and HBOS was down 0.7 percent to 903 ½p.

Other FTSE 100 decliners included oil company BP, which lost 0.8 percent to 653 ½p, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which was down by 0.7 percent to £25.90, and mining company Rio Tinto, which dropped 0.8 percent to £20.32.

Record label EMI, however, gained 3 percent to 254 ¼p on the news that it is in discussions to purchase New York-based independent label Wind-Up Records, which records Creed and Evanescence. The proposed purchase prices is said to be $125 million.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,199.87.

The banking sector was especially active on the day. Commerzbank was up 8.3 percent to €21.70 on talk that it could become the target of a foreign takeover bid.

Among those seen as contenders for the German bank are France’s BNP Paribas and Spain’s Santander Central Hispano. Santander denied the reports, while Paribas said that it never comments on such rumors. BNP gained 1.2 percent to €61.05 and Santander was up 0.5 percent to €10.14.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Unicredito added 2.5 percent to €4.615, while HVB was up 3 percent to €23.10.

In the airlines sector, Lufthansa gained 5.1 percent to €11.29 after it reported its full first-half data on earnings and WestLB confirmed their “outperform” rating for the air carrier.

In utilities, French company Suez added 5.8 percent to €24.90 after a rise of 7 percent on Tuesday on positive analyst sentiment regarding the news that Suez will buy the portion of Belgian electricity supplier Electrabel. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein rated Suez at “buy” and increased its price target from €20 to €26.

Decliners on the day included Bayer, which lost 1.2 percent to *30.09. Its quarterly report showed earnings up less than expected. Even so, the drugs and chemicals group raised its annual earnings forecast. Danish drugmaker Novo Norsk was also down, by 2.7 percent to DKr326, ahead of its quarterly report.

The Japanese equities markets were up on Wednesday on heavy foreign buying as the Asian nation’s political turmoil began to ease.

The Nikkei 225 gained 1.7 percent to 12,098.08, its highest close since April 2004, while the Topix index closed 1.8 percent higher at 1,227,85, its highest close in four years.

Foreign buyers seemed to be accepting analysts’ opinions that Japan’s political troubles will not have any significant negative impact on the economy and could in fact be a positive factor in long-term economic growth.

There was also good news on several fronts. Machinery orders were strong, corporate goods price data pointed to an end of deflation, and the Cabinet Office monthly report contained a more positive assessment of the economy.

Foreign investors were especially interested in the machinery, steel, and textile sectors. Nippon Steel gained 1.4 percent to ¥292, and textile manufacturer Unitika was up 1.3 percent to ¥531. Quarterly reports also led to increases in share values. Mitsubishi Materials was up 6 percent on the day to ¥316 on the strength of its quarterly profits, which were reported on Monday.

Japan’s second biggest property developer, Mitsubishi Estate, gained 3.5 percent to ¥1,304 on a positive quarterly report. In the chemicals sector, Showa Denko gained 6 percent to ¥299 on a tripling of profits in the first half.

Retailers were up on the day as well, on reports that the political situation could delay implementation of a hike in the consumption tax. Department store chain Mitsukoshi added 2.7 percent to ¥531.

At mid-day on Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX index had gained 0.8 percent to sit at 10,670.30 on a trading volume of 122.1 million shares.

The gains were primarily due to strength in the energy and financial sectors. Eight of the 10 groups on the TSX showed advances, with the energy group leading the way with a gain of 1.1 percent, followed by financials group at 0.7 percent higher.

The materials group also was showing a gain of 1.1 percent, with its gold subgroup gaining 1.5 percent.

Shares in energy companies were up despite a surprise report showing oil supplies in the US up last week. Suncor Energy was up 2.7 percent to C$69.03, while EnCana Corp. gained 2.4 percent to C$53.64. EnCana was helped by US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of a 328-mile pipeline that will ship natural gas from the Rocky Mountains to eastern US markets. An EnCana affiliate will operate the pipeline.

In the financials sector, banks were up as they recovered from the news that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will have to pay out over $2 billion to settle claims related to their involvement with collapsed US energy company Enron. CIBC gained 1.8 percent to C$72.06. Bank of Nova Scotia was up 0.9 percent to C$41.86.

The equities markets in Australia saw new record highs on Wednesday, but New Zealand stocks were down on the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia closed up by 0.18 percent to 4.425.6 to set a new high for the third straight day on the strength of strong quarterly earnings reports from Stockland Group, a property trust, and Coca-Cola Amatil.

Stockland gained 1.7 percent to A$6.03 as it reported a 13.5 percent gain in annual its operating profits. Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. Was up 3.2 percent to A$8.13. It reported that first-half earnings were up by 16.8 percent on strong sales in Australia. However, Commonwealth Bank lost 2.7 percent on the day after reporting second-half earnings that were below expectations.

Woodside Petroleum was also down on the day on profit-taking after advancing nearly 10 percent in the previous two trading sessions. Meanwhile in New Zealand, the top-50 index there fell 0.5 percent to 3,324.3.

Among the blue-chips, Fletcher Building held flat at NZ$7.18 despite reporting an earnings jump of 31 percent in the second half. Telecom lost 1 percent to NZ$6.16 as investors anticipated the launch of rival company Vodafone’s 3G mobile network.

The New York equities markets were down on Wednesday on soaring crude oil prices, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike on Tuesday, and on stocks that lost from gains in Tuesday’s trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.2 percent to 10,594.49, the Nasdaq composite was down 0.8 percent to 2,157.81, and the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent to 1,229.18.

Among gainers Tuesday that lost share value on Wednesday were Cisco Systems and Walt Disney. Cisco Systems was down 6.9 percent to $18.25, while Walt Disney declined by 2.6 percent to $25.47.

Analysts think that more interest rate hikes and continuing gains in crude oil prices will tend to drag down the equities markets.

One analyst was quoted as saying that as higher crude oil prices translate into higher prices to consumers, inflation will rise and the markets will feel that rise.

Among others gainers and losers on the day, mortgage group Fannie Mae lost 3.8 percent to $52.70 when it announced that it had missed its deadline to file its quarterly earnings report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Radio stations owner Clear Channel gained 0.5 percent to $33.92 on the news that it would spin off its billboard advertising business in an initial public offering that could be worth as much as $350 million. It also said that it would spin off its live entertainment business.

Meanwhile, Maytag gained 1.9 percent to $19 and Whirlpool lost 1.8 percent to $81.53 when Whirlpool again raised its bid for Maytag, by another $1 to $21 per share.

In London on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 was up by 0.4 percent to 4,363.7, its best effort since late August 2001, while the FTSE 250 was also up 0.4 percent to 7,702.4.

It was the first time that the mid-caps index had broken the 7,700 level. Trading reached a volume of 2.8 billion shares.

The oil sector was up substantially on Monday’s spike in crude oil prices. BP gained 1.5 percent to 659p, Royal Dutch Shell’s “B” shares were up 2.2 percent to £19.09, and Oilexco added 4.2 percent to 161p. Tullow Oil rose 3.8 percent to 207 ½p and Paladin Resources were up 6.7 percent to 293 ½p.

In other energy groups, Cairn Energy added 6.8 percent to £17.20 when UBS raised its rating to “buy” and increased its price target from £15.30 to £19.60. Meanwhile, BG Group gained 3 percent to 514 ½p on rumors that it might be a takeover target in the sights of China’s CNOOC after the Chinese company withdrew from the bidding for US oil company Unocal.

The mining sector was also up on higher commodities prices, especially that of copper. Xstrata gained 1.9 percent to £12.75, while Rio Tinto was up 1.4 percent to £20.48.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered gained 2.4 percent to £12.40 on upgrades from several brokers following Monday’s positive quarterly report.

Investors on the New York equities markets didn’t seem bothered by the rise in interest rates introduced by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

This attitude, along with slightly lower crude oil prices and a report that labor costs in the US were being held to reasonable levels, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 to gains on the day.

The Dow closed up by 0.8 percent to 10, 615.67, the Nasdaq added 0.4 percent to 2,174.19, and the S&P was up 0.7 percent to 1,231.39.

Delta Air Lines had a bad day when Merrill Lynch issued a warning that climbing oil prices could be the factor that tips Delta into bankruptcy. Delta lost 12.6 percent on the day to close at $1.95.

Video and games rental company Blockbuster didn’t have an especially good day either after it reported quarterly losses that more than doubled expectations after trying to challenge competitor Netflix in the online-order DVD rental market. Blockbuster fell 11.5 percent on the day to $7.09, 75 percent lower than its highest price of $29.51, reached in May 2002. Netflix, meanwhile, saw a gain of 1.9 percent on the day to $21.34.

Cisco Systems, the internet equipment maker, did better, gaining 1.9 percent to $19.61 on anticipation of a good quarterly report which was due to be released after the close of trade.

Walt Disney, which was also set to report after trade closed on Tuesday, was up by 2.9 percent to $26.14.

In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed 0.7 percent higher at 1,189.21.

Gains in the oil sector did a great deal to help, as did the news that French utility Suez was poised to purchase all the stock of Electrabel, the Belgian electricity supplier, that id does not already own.

Shares in Suez were up 7 percent to €23.54, while Electrabel gained 6.7 percent on the news, to €415.70.

In the oil sector, OMV was up 3.6 percent to €40, Neste Oil gained 3.4 percent to €23.90, and Total rose 1.3 percent to €211.40.

The financial sector was mixed. Swiss bank UBS lost 1.4 percent to SFr104.40 on net profits that were somewhat below predictions. Swiss reinsurer Converium was down 0.4 percent to Sfr11.95 after releasing a second quarter report which showed that while net profits were up, its underwriting division had suffered a loss.

Deutsche Borse, which operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, was up 2.8 percent to €73.72 on record profits in the second quarter. As a result, year-long earnings estimates were raised.

Meanwhile, in the pharmaceuticals sector, Irish drug maker Elan gained 19.7 percent on the day to €7.30 after the release of a study that showed no new cases of the brain disease that caused it to have to remove its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri from the market in February. That withdrawal caused Elan’s shares to fall by 90 percent.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 were all down on the day as investors awaited word on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this month as expected.

The Dow lost 0.2 percent to close at 10,536.93, the Nasdaq fell 0.6 percent to 2,164.39, and the S&P declined by 0.3 percent to end the day at 1,223.13.

Several reports and rumors of bids and mergers also captured the attention of investors.

Kerr-McGee, the oil and gas company, gained 3.7 percent to $85.01 on the news that it had agreed to let Moller-Maersk purchase its oil interests in the North Sea for $3.5 billion.

E*Trade announced it would buy the online brokerage operations of Harrisdirect, sending shares in E*Trade up 8.3 percent to $16.10. The purchase will cost E*Trade $700 million.

Whirlpool upped its bid for Maytag by $2 to $20 per share. Maytag was up 9.4 percent to $18.58 on the news, and Whirlpool gained 3.5 percent to $82.40.

Department store group Saks saw its shares go up on a report in Women’s Wear Daily that Bon-Ton Stores and Cerberus Capital Management might spend up to $4.2 billion to purchase Saks. Shares in Saks gained 9.1 percent to $22.10 on the strength of the report.

In Japan on Monday, the Nikkei 225 closed up 0.1 percent to 11,778.98 even though it was down by 1 percent at the end of morning trading, and the Topix ended the day 0.2 percent higher at 1,191.90 after being down by 0.9 percent tat the end of the morning.

Shares were down in the morning on uncertainty about what might happen if the upper house of parliament rejected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s post office privatization proposal.

However, as the losing outcome became clear and new elections were called, most analysts said they were convinced that not only would new elections not disturb Japan’s economy recovery, but that a change might actually be a positive thing for the economy.

It was especially thought that political parties trying to gain more political power might be reluctant to take fiscal tightening measures, something the present government has wished to impose.

Telemarketer Mishi Moshi Hotline, which was up by 4.2 percent on the day to ¥11,560, particularly stands to gain from a political campaign season as it provides public opinion poll services for the media. It also recently released it quarterly report, which showed an increase of 31 percent in net profits.

Consumer Credit company Credit Saison gained 5.9 percent to ¥3,950 on the news that it had a quarterly rise in net profits of 50 percent.

Mitsui Engineering Shipbuilding, however, was down by 4.5 percent to ¥212 after a report of quarterly losses four times higher than the same quarter in 2004 as well as a prediction of net losses in the six months ending in September due to high costs for materials.

The FTSE 100 gained 29.6 points to 5,344.3 and the FTSE 250 lost 6.6 points to 7,673.9 in a mixed day on the London equities markets. Volume was 2.9 billion shares, helped by share placings by several mid-cap companies.

The oil sector was higher on crude oil price gains. BP was up 1.9 percent to 649 ½p. BHP Billiton also gained 1.9 percent to close at 840p.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered added 7.6 percent to £12.11, an all-time high based on better than predicted interim results, an acquisition of Korea First, a South Korean bank, as well as on speculation that US banking group Citigroup might be interested in bidding for Standard Chartered.

Barclays gained 1 percent to 582p on an upgrade to “buy” and a raised target price of 640p per share from Deutsche Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland, however, lost 1.6 percent to £16.22 on a lowered earnings estimate for 2006 and 2007 by ABN Amro.

Life assurance company Prudential gained 0.5 percent to 524 ¼p after Credit Suisse First Boston increased its price target to 560p.

Meanwhile, telecommunications equipment manufacturer Marconi gained 14.7 percent to 306 ¼p when it said it was involved in talks with Huawei Technologies of China, a privately owned company, on a number of issues.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.6 percent to 1,181.34 after reaching up to 1,183.52 earlier in the day.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Nokia gained 1.1 percent to €13.06 on rumors that US company Cisco Systems could be getting ready to bid for the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia denied any knowledge of the reports.

Alcatel was up by 0.3 percent to €9.90, but Ericsson lost 0.4 percent to SKr26.20.

The oil sector was up substantially on new record high crude oil prices. Repsol was up by 1.8 percent to €23.42, total gained 1.3 percent to €208.70, and Eni advanced by 1.7 percent to €23.66. Norsk Hydro gained 2.5 percent to NKr643 and Statoil added 2.3 percent to NKr147.50 as the two companies announced that they would develop the Troll oil and gas field off Norway at a possible cost of $8 billion.

The airlines sector was up despite rises in oil prices. Air France-KLM gained 3.6 percent to €13.68 on a rise of 9.2 percent in passengers in July, while they filled 85.2 percent of their available seats, a record. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa was up 2.1 percent to €10.70 as it announced that July traffic was 6.8 percent higher than last year in July.

In other sectors, French luxury goods company Hermes lost 1.9 percent to €162.80 although it said its half-year sales were up. Adidas-Salomon fell by 2.4 percent to €151.40 on profit-taking after its large advance last week on news that it would purchase Reebok.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the week at nearly the same level as it began, at 1,174.47, although in the middle of the week it managed to hit a three-year high.

Banks had a mixed week. Allied Irish Bank reported a first-half profit of 22 percent on more loans, leading ABN Amro to upgrade the bank from “hold” to “add” and to raise its earnings estimates and price targets.

This did not prevent Allied Irish from losing 1.1 percent on the week to €17.65 on profit taking. Société Générale, which had gained 10 percent on the year before it reported second-quarter results on Thursday, saw a 2.1 percent loss to *88.35, again on profit-taking.

BNP Paribas saw its shares fall in value on Wednesday after its quarterly report presented results that were above predictions, but it managed gains at the end of the week to close 1.3 percent higher at €60.40. Commerzbank also had a good week, gaining 7 percent on the week to €19.72 even though it reported a decline of 27 percent in net profits in the second quarter.

One of the biggest losers of the week came from the automobile manufacturing sector, as BMW declined by 4.9 percent over the week to €36.85 on a 15.5 percent decrease in pre-tax profits in the second quarter.

The Tokyo equities markets were down again on Friday as investors worried about the consequences of a defeat for the prime minister’s plan to privatize the post office.

If the upper house of parliament does not approve the legislation, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has promised to dissolve parliament and call elections.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.98 percent to 11,766.48, while the Topix index lost 1.24 percent to 1,189.19. All 33 sectors of the Tokyo Stock Exchange were down on the day.

Banks were lower, with Mizuho Financial Group down 1.2 percent to ¥502,000, MTFG lost 1.2 percent to ¥943,000, and UFJ dropped 0.9 percent to ¥580,000.

Besides the uncertainty over the privatization vote, MTFG and UFJ were also affected by a report that that the two banks are delaying plans for a merger, a rumor that both banks denied.

Automobile manufacturers also saw major losses as Honda, Nissan, and Toyota each lost 1.9 percent of the value of their shares. Honda stood at ¥5,700, Nissan declined to ¥1,145, and Toyota fell to ¥4,170.

Not all individual shares were down, however. Condominium developer Haseko gained 9.3 percent to ¥258 on the announcement that it will buy back ¥142.8 billion in preferred shares from three banks.

Fuji Television gained 1.4 percent to ¥221,000 when it upped its profit estimate for the full year by 7 percent due to TV shopping and advertising revenues that are higher than expected. Fuji is Japan’s biggest private broadcaster.

The New York stock markets were down on Thursday on profit-taking and on reports that retail sales in the United States were generally down in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 percent to 10,610.10, the Nasdaq composite index was down 1.2 percent to 2,191.32, and the S&P 500 lost 0.7 percent to 1,235.86.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart was down 0.8 percent to $49.29 even though same-store sales were up by 4.4 percent in July.

The Gap was down 1.2 percent to $20.69, Limited Brands fell 2.7 percent to $24.35, and Nordstrom, which has gained nearly 70 percent in the past year, declined by 8.2 percent to $33.45.

The Gap, Limited Brands, and Nordstrom all reported lower-than-expected sales in the second quarter. The retail sector as a whole was down 2.2 percent on these results for the worst performance in a sector on the day.

Elsewhere, HSBC Holdings agreed to buy credit card company Metris, sending shares in both companies down on the day. HSBC Holdings fell 0.8 percent to $81.90, while Metris lost 2.6 percent to $14.46.

In the eurozone on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.7 percent to 1,178.96 on profit-taking and a number of companies that did not meet quarterly expectations.

In the banking sector, the Royal Bank of Scotland’s unfavorable earnings report had an effect on the rest of the sector. The Bank of Ireland was down 2.6 percent to €13.39 after it announced that it will fund a Canadian rail project. Fortis lost 1.4 percent to €24.14.

Allied Irish Bank declined by 0.8 percent to €17.65. However, Germany’s Commerzbank gained 2.6 percent to €19.83 on good performance Wednesday and the expectation of a return to go to investors.

In the oil sector, Total, the world’s fourth largest oil company, reported a 33 percent increase in net profits in the second quarter. However, its quarterly profit of €2.91 billion was only even with predictions. In consequence, shares of Total dropped 1.3 percent to €208.80.

Neste Oil was up 0.4 percent to €23.80 after hitting an all-time high of €25.05 earlier in the day. This gain followed the announcement of a 17 percent rise in operating profits in the second quarter, above forecasts.

Austria’s OMV lost 0.7 percent to €39.20, Italy’s ENI fell 1.3 percent to €25.53, and Norway’s Norsk Hydro lost 1.6 percent to NKr627.00.

In the automotive sector, BMW fell 2.2 percent to €37.13 on less-than-expected first half earnings. DaimlerChrysler was down 2.4 percent to €40.34 in spite of an increase in July sales, up 2.2 percent to 100,200 units on the strong performance of its Mercedes Benz division.

Even with that result, however, group sales were down 1.3 percent in the year through July. Elsewhere in the sector, Porsche lost 2.6 percent to €638.03, Fiat fell 2.8 percent to €6.9040, and Renault declined by 1.7 percent to €76.25.

The stock markets in New York ended the day mixed as crude oil prices rode a roller coaster, more quarterly results rolled in, and one company shook everything up.

The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 0.1 percent to 10,697.59 and the S&P 500 also was up 0.1 percent to 1,245.03, but the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1 percent to 2,216.81.

The shake-up came as German company Adidas agreed to purchase Reebok, which sent shares in Reebok up by 30 percent to $57.14. When joined the two companies will form the world’s second-largest sporting goods company, smaller than only Nike. Nike gained 1.3 percent to $86.92 on the news.

The airline sector did not do nearly as well, with the Amex airline index falling 1.5 percent to close at 50.83. Delta Airlines fell 8.3 percent to $2.32, its lowest share value in 43 years, as investors worried that the carrier was getting closer to bankruptcy. Northwest Airlines declined nearly 8.6 percent to $4.37 on the news that union representatives had walked out on contract negotiations. Skywest lost 1.3 percent to $20.82.

Time Warner lost 0.9 percent to $17.27 on a quarterly report that showed its quarterly earnings falling on a $321 million loss that came in the wake of a $2.5 billion settlement in a securities fraud case filed by shareholders.

In Tokyo on Wednesdsay, equities markets closed higher again on another group of positive quarterly reports.

The Nikkei 225 closed 0.35 percent higher at 11,981.80, its highest closing level in 15 months, after having peaked briefly above the 12,000 level for the first time in over a year. The Topix index ended the day up 0.2 percent at 1,212.02.

Gains were limited, however, by continuing uncertainty over what will happen if the upper house of parliament does not approve privatization of the post office in a vote schedule for Friday.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has threatened to call elections if the legislation, which he backs, is not approved.

Among those companies issuing quarterly reports was car and motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki, which gained 3.5 percent to ¥1,874 after it reported a higher than expected 4.6 percent gain in quarterly operating profits.

Amano, which makes time recording equipment, saw the value of its shares soar by 12.6 percent to ¥1,614 after it said that it more than doubled its operating profit in the most recent quarter. In response, Amano revised its forecast for the half-year ending in September.

Drugmaker Astellas added 5.3 percent to close at ¥3,790 on a 13 percent rise in quarterly profits due to strong sales.

In New York on Tuesday, equities markets were up, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6 percent to 10,683.74, while the Nasdaq composite gained over 1 percent to 2,218.15 and the S&P 500 added 1,244.08.

Analysts warned investors not to get too excited about recent gains, however, because statistically speaking August and September are the worst performing months for US markets.

On the announcement that CNOOC had dropped its bid for Unocal due to political factors, shares in Chevron gained 1.9 percent to $59.56 and Unocal was up 0.3 percent to $64.53.

Among automobile manufacturers, Ford and DaimlerChrysler were up and General Motors was down after all three companies showed improvements in sales in the quarter on large discounts to car buyers. Ford gained 0.3 percent to $10.88, DaimlerChrysler was up 2.8 percent to $50.75, while GM lost 0.9 percent to $36.53.

The media sector was up as a whole by 0.8 percent on the day. Cable tv and internet provider Comcast reported that its profits were up 62 percent in the quarter even though cable and internet subscriptions were down. Shares in Comcast were up 1.3 percent on the day to $31.00. Time Warner and Viacom will report their quarterly earnings later in the week.

The FTSE Eurofirst hit a 38-month high on Tuesday when it closed up 0.8 percent to 1,189.43, its gains mostly on reactions by investors to positive quarterly earnings reports.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, BMW was up 1.7 percent to *39.62 ahead of its quarterly report. Volkswagen gained 0.5 percent to *44.23 and DaimlerChrysler advanced by 2.7 percent to *41.52.

In automotive-related stocks, tire maker Continental was up 3 percent to *67.22 on higher than forecast second-quarter earnings and on having kept up with full-year predictions. French rival Michelin was up 2.3 percent to *52.45.

Chipmakers were up on a report out of the United States that showed chip sales worldwide up more than expected in the first half of the year. Infineon gained 2.9 percent to *8.28, ASML added 1 percent to *14.58, and STMicroelectronics was up by 2.3 percent to *14.43.

In the retail sector, German retailer Metro gained 1.1 percent to *42.63 even though it did not meet quarterly expectations. It was still upgraded to “outperform” by WestLB, which raised its target price to *46.50 per share, up from *41.

Carrefour, Europe’s largest retailer, was up 2.6 percent to *39.77 on rumors that US retailer Wal-Mart could be getting ready to mount a takeover bid.

London’s equities markets were up on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 reached its highest level in 44 months to close at 5,327.5, a gain of 36.7 points on the day. The FTSE 250 was up as well, closing at 7,636.6. 2.6 billion shares were traded on the day.

The FTSE 100’s gains were helped by advances in mining stocks and on the expectation that the Bank of England will lower UK interest rates when its monetary policy committee meets later in the week.

Shares in mining companies were higher on new record high prices for copper brought about by production interruptions in Zambia and Chile that raised the possibility of tight supplies becoming even tighter. BHP Billiton was up 2.5 percent to 810p, Antofagasta gained 1.6 percent to £13.46, Rio Tinto added 2.1 percent to £19.15, and Xstrata rose by 1.7 percent to £12.13.

In the air transportation sector, Ryanair gained 1.8 percent to *6.87 on record high quarterly earnings, even though it raised cautions about results for the rest of the year due to high fuel costs. Fund manager Amvescap lost 1.6 percent to 420p on results that were a bit below predictions.

Other fund managers saw gains on the day after rumors that CI Financial might be readying a hostile takeover of Amvescap. Henderson Group gained 3.1 percent to 67 ½p, Rathbone Brothers was up 1.3 percent to 847 ½p, and Schroders added 1.2 percent to 869 ½p.

Tokyo equities markets were down on Tuesday on profit taking from companies whose stocks had risen in recent days after they reported rises in quarterly earnings.

Domestic stocks were affected by concerns that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s plan to privatize Japan’s post office could be rejected when the upper house of parliament votes on the issue on Friday. Mr. Koizumi has said that he will call elections if the legislation is not approved.

Oil and coal was one of the few sectors to post positive results on the day, with the sector rising 2.3 percent overall. AOC gained 5.6 percent to ¥1,891.

Chip makers and related companies were also up, on data from the US Semiconductor Industry Association that showed strong first half sales and predicted even better results for the rest of the year. Advantest gained 1.7 percent to ¥9,160, while Tokyo Electron was up 1.8 percent to ¥6,250.

Audio equipment manufacturer Kenwood lost 1 percent to ¥201 after strong advances on Monday due to a positive quarterly report. Komatsu, the construction machinery manufacturer, also was a target for profit-taking, declining by 4.3 percent to ¥1,078 after big gains last week.

In London on Monday the equities markets saw small gains on the day on a fairly weak volume of 2.2 billion shares traded. The FTSE 100 closed the day at 5,290.8, a gain of 8.5 points, while the FTSE 250 added 12.7 points to close at 7,617.8.

Resurgent rumors of a takeover of fund manager Amvescap send its shares up 3.5 percent to 427p, even though a bid wasn’t sure and despite the fact that some believe that even if a bid is made, it was very possible that it would not be successful.

In the banking sector, HSBC gained 0.8 percent to 930 ½p on the strength of a report that its interim profits were up 5 percent to $10.64 billion due to moves into new and emerging markets. In addition, Standard Chartered added 1.2 percent to £11.23, Northern Rock was up 1.3 percent to 825 ½p on an increased target price, and Lloyds TSB gained 1.4 percent to 488 ½p.

Shares in oil companies were up on crude oil prices that were up at least partly on the news of the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. BG Group gained 0.8 percent to 475 ¼p, Royal Dutch Shell’s “B” shares were up 1.6 percent to £18.35, Burren Energy added 3 percent to 788p, and Venture Production rose 6.2 percent to 462p. BP fell, however, by 0.7 percent to 625p.

Retailer Woolworths was up 1.4 percent to 37p on the announcement that it has sold its video and dvd business MVC, which had been a loser for the company.

In New York on Monday, the main equities indexes closed mixed as technology stocks did better than the blue-chips.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent to 10,623.15, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5 percent to 2,195.38 and the S&P 500 was up by 0.1 percent to 1,235.35.

EBay gained 4.4 percent to $43.61 on an upgrade to “buy” from Smith Barney. Google gained 1.3 percent to $291.61, but Yahoo lost early gains to close even at $33.33.

The energy sector saw gains on the rise in crude oil prices. ExxonMobil rose 0.8 percent to $59.23, and Kerr-McGee was up 1.7 percent to $81.53.

Proctor and Gamble reported a 9 percent rise in net profits overall, and sales in its health and family division grew by 13 percent. However, because of lukewarm guidance, P&G shares fell 0.6 percent to $55.32.

Wal-Mart, which sells P&G products, rose 0.4 percent to $49.53 based on monthly sales growth figures near the high end of forecasts. Meat processor Tyson Foods fell 3.7 percent to $17.95 on a report that its second-quarter profits were lower than expected due to expenses connected to settlement costs after a lawsuit by pork farmers.

In Tokyo on Monday, equities markets reached their highest closing levels in four and a half months.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent to 11,946.92, while the Topix index was up 0.55 percent to 1,211.61.

The gains came primarily on positive economic data and more better-than-predicted quarterly profits reports. Several reports were released on Friday and again on Monday showing Japan’s economy on the upswing.

Friday saw the release of good news on employment and industrial output, while on Monday figures were published that show both wages and the number of permanent jobs up in June.

The retail sector as a whole was up by 0.8 percent, echoed by a gain of 0.8 percent by supermarket chain Ito-Yokado, to ¥3,770.

The telecommunications sector also did well, with Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, showing a rise of 4.6 percent to ¥182,000 on a report that quarterly profits had risen even though revenues had fallen, with the credit going to cost-cutting measures. Another mobile phone operator, KDDI, was also up, by 6.3 percent to ¥576,000. Merrill Lynch upgraded KDDI to “buy”.

Not all stocks were up, however. Seasoning maker Ajinomoto was down 4.95 percent to ¥1,133 on a quarterly report that showed a 73 percent drop in group net profit at least partly due to higher prices for raw materials.