Good morning traders!

US stocks closed sharply higher last night as crude prices eased. The Dow rose 55.47 points to 10,586.23 and the S&P500 gained 2.67 points to 1,222.81. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 8.81 points at 2,178.24.

In Asia today, the Nikkei closed down 24.87 points at 14,036.73, while the Hang Seng ended the morning session down 8.47 points at 14,357.32.

Oil firmed a little in Eaqstern trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December gained six cents to $59.53 a barrel from its close of $59.47 in US trading overnight.

Early broker news:

MCBRIDE INITIATED 'BUY' AT DKW; PRICE TARGET 182P
CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY UPPED TO 'IN-LINE' VS 'UNDERPERFORM' AT GOLDMAN
Rio Tinto 2006 capex likely well in excess of $3bn - Merrill Lynch

Happy trading!

G.

Morning all.

Outlook

LONDON (AFX) - Leading shares look set to open higher this morning, underpinned by gains on Wall Street last night, and as investors get set to comb through the latest results from the likes of Marks & Spencer and Cable & Wireless, dealers said.
According to spread betting firm IG Index, the FTSE 100 is seen opening 11 points higher.

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,460.8 up 37.2
FTSE 250 8,010.9 up 63.3
DJIA 10,586.20 up 55.40
Nasdaq Comp 2,178.24 up 8.81
S&P 500 1,222.80 up 2.65
Tokyo: Nikkei 14,036.73 down 24.87
Hang Seng midday 14,357.32 down 8.47
Gold 457.50 usd (456.40 usd)
Oil - Brent Dec 58.04 usd (59.25 usd)

TODAY'S PRESS
* Tax drive 'threatens investment in Britain'; PwC warns on aggressive Revenue crackdown - FT
* Dresdner Bank preparing to curtail the independence of its free-standing investment banking unit, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, by reintegrating the business into the main bank - FT
* Number of homes sold this year set to be the lowest for more than 30 years, according to forecasts by estate agent SAVILLS - FT
* DE BEERS to reverse apartheid legacy; black investors to get 15 pct stake in diamond miner - Guardian
* George Davies to stay on at per una, acting as chairman from next July, after cutting a new deal with MARKS & SPENCER - Times

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on RYANAIR (shares up 40 pct over the last year; this may have to satisfy shareholders; apart from gambling wins, they are unlikely to see much of the cash generated from Ryanair's fantastic growth handed back to them), KPN (bull case rests on an irrational bidder; France Telecom and Telefonica have shown they have the inclination, but for now at least, their hands and balance sheets are full), Material adverse change, Veolia Environnement (potential for cleaning up further in the short term looks constrained), NBC Universal/Paxson (in the right hands, Paxson's footprint could yet have real value), Praktiker (for investors, less really should mean more)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: DAT GROUP (talk it is close to agreeing another major deal with an overseas operator; it may surpass its recent 1 mln usd-plus pact with a US firm)
Mail
GAME GROUP (PlayStation delays knock the stuffing out of Game)
Mirror
BUY! BUY! SELL! SELL! Henk Potts tips HSBC
Times
Rumour of the day: ILX GROUP (talk it is close to securing the acquisition to which it alluded last month) - Directors' dealings: GREGGS (finance director and his wife sell stock for 2.2 mln stg - TEMPUS: SCOTTISH POWER (hold, but consider selling if the shares rise above 600 pence with a deal agreed), SKYEPHARMA (buy), AMVESCAP (take some profit off the table)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: LOGICACMG (avoid), NETELLER (buy)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: RYANAIR (buy), NETELLER (buy), GREGGS (not cheap, but worth holding)

Morning all.

Good Morning All

Morning All.

End-of-day Market Summary