Apple Inc
The tech giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.14B but issued an uncertain outlook. Apple was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at UBS, with the broker saying strong cash provides downside support, but there's uncertainty ahead.

Boeing Co.
The aircraft maker, which is suffering under a near-seven-week machinist strike that's stopped commercial aircraft production, said its revenue fell to $15.3B from $16.5B.

Ford Motor Company
The automaker, seeking to offload some of its 33.4% holding in Mazda Motor Corp., approached Hiroshima Bank as a potential buyer, according to a Japanese media report Wednesday.

AT&T Inc
The telco reported earnings rose to 55 cents per diluted share for the third quarter from 50 cents per share a year earlier. The diluted earnings did not include the 10-cent-per-share gain from strong sales of the Apple iPhone 3G, or the hurricane-related charge of 2 cents per share.

The euro fell below $1.28 for the first time since November 2006 and the pound tumbled to a five- year low on speculation Europe's central banks will cut interest rates as the global economy heads for a recession.
The single European currency also slid to the weakest in more than four years versus the yen as global stocks declined, encouraging investors to sell higher-yielding assets and pay back low-cost loans in Japan. The pound dropped to a one-week low versus the euro after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the U.K. is probably in a recession.
``The market came to realize that many more rate reductions are needed in Europe,'' said Robert Blake, a strategist in Boston at State Street Global Markets LLC, which has $15.3 trillion in assets under custody. ``Dollar repatriation has much further room to run.''
The declines caught companies investing in currency derivatives, or financial instruments derived from stocks, bonds, loans, currencies and commodities, on the wrong side of the trade.
The euro extended losses today on speculation efforts by global governments and central banks to revive credit markets will fail to avoid a worldwide recession.
``I am short on the euro-dollar,'' said Benedikt Germanier, a currency strategist at UBS AG in Stamford, Connecticut. ``It's a strong trend. It's more about psychology than fundamentals.''
U.S. investors have repatriated about $60 billion of the nearly $1 trillion in foreign stocks and bonds purchased since 2003, leaving an ``enormous pool of capital'' that may flow back into the U.S. and bolster the dollar, according to a Oct. 16 note by Citigroup.
The British pound fell for a fourth day against the greenback after a report yesterday showed U.K. manufacturing confidence dropped to its weakest level in almost three decades.
``It now seems likely that the U.K. economy is entering a recession,'' BOE Governor King said in a speech to executives in Leeds, England, yesterday. ``The balance of risks to inflation in the medium term shifted decisively to the downside.''
Policy makers voted unanimously to lower the benchmark U.K. interest rate by a half-percentage point to 4.5 percent in an emergency meeting on Oct. 8, according to minutes of the decision released by the Bank of England today in London. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee said the economy had ``deteriorated substantially,'' which would slow inflation from more than double the 2 percent target.

Stocks tumbled Wednesday morning as Wachovia's big quarterly loss and a host of other bleak earnings reports exacerbated recession fears.
Lending rates improved, helping to reassure investors that the efforts of world governments to stabilize financial markets are starting to work. Treasury bond prices rose, lowering the corresponding yields. The dollar was mixed versus other major currencies. Oil, gas and gold prices fell.
With 21% of S&P 500 companies already having reported results, third-quarter profits are currently on track to have fallen almost 10% from a year ago, according to the latest estimates from .
Wachovia reported a huge $24 billion quarterly loss versus a profit a year ago. Analysts expected the bank to report a slim profit, despite the turmoil in financial markets. Wachovia is being bought by Wells Fargo and part of the big loss is related to charges associated with that merger.
Dow component Boeing reported lower quarterly earnings that missed forecasts on weaker sales that managed to top estimates. A strike and supplier problems hurt profits. Shares fell 7%.
Also late Tuesday, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales and earnings that jumped from a year ago due to strong sales of its new iPhone. Earnings beat forecasts, while sales missed expectations. Apple also forecast fiscal first-quarter sales and earnings below analysts' earlier projections.
Lending rates continued to improve Wednesday, extending the recent recovery.
The 3-month Libor rate, which banks charge each other to borrow for three months, fell to 3.54% from 3.83% late Tuesday.
Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.66% from 3.70% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Last week, the 3-month fell to below 0.2%. Last month, it reached a 68-year low around 0% as investor panic hit its peak.
U.S. light crude oil for November delivery fell $3.08 to 69.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday morning after hitting a 13-month low last week.
COMEX gold for December delivery fell $17.20 to $750.80 an ounce.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will announce any monetary policy change at 20:00 GMT as is widely expected to cut rates by 100 bps in a "catch-up" play to the RBA, which cut by 100 bps on Oct 7. After raising rates steadily in 2007, the RBNZ was on hold for the bulk of 2008. Then in July, the central bank was one of the first global central banks to start easing again (RNBZ cut by 25bps). The July cut was followed by another 50 bp cut in Sept, which brought the OCR down to its current level of 7.50%.

Crude oil prices remain under pressure after release of US DoE weekly inventory data, which showed stronger than expected builds across the board. WTI Nymex crude oil hit $67.50 in knee-jerk reaction and now trading at $68.14, down $4.04.

"Fed paying more interest on reserves "should be seen as an attempt to better align the effective funds rate with its target." JPM says they were surprised that Fed initially set the spread at 75bp -- "the effective funds rate has remained on average 60bp below the target rate.""

The bullion's hit $748.45 on reported fund deleveraging. Support is at $737.00 -- September 11 low and $735.11, which is the 38.2% $254.00 of $1032.50 move. Spot Gold is at $751.67, down $19.98.

Reported resistance toward $1.6450 again able to counter upside pressure, this time providing a cap around $1.6440, with rate currently trading around $1.6400. A break above $1.6450 to expose stops, which if triggered expected to open a move on toward $1.6500 ahead of $1.6600. Bids remain in place back at $1.6300 ahead of stronger levels at $1.6250 ahead of $1.6200. A break under this latter level to expose decent sized stops.

EUR/USD: $1.3500
USD/JPY: Y99.50, Y99.80, Y100.00, Y101.50, Y101.60
EUR/GBP: stg0.7760

The euro fell below $1.28 for the first time since November 2006 and the pound tumbled to a five- year low on speculation European central banks will cut interest rates as the global economy heads for recession.
The single European currency also slid to the weakest in more than four years versus the yen as global stocks declined, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan. The pound declined to a one-week low versus the euro after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the U.K. is probably in a recession.
``People now realize that there is a lot of catch-up to be played by the European central banks and from a much higher starting point than in the U.S.,'' said Michael Rosborough, a foreign-exchange strategist at Citigroup Inc. in London.
Rosborough forecast the euro will fall to $1.26 in a month, with ``a bias to believing it could go lower than that.''
The euro extended losses today on speculation efforts by global governments and central banks to revive credit markets will fail to avoid a worldwide recession.
``Expectations for rate cuts in Europe and the U.K. are growing stronger by the day because of the weak economic outlook,'' said Koji Fukaya, senior currency strategist at the Tokyo unit of Deutsche Bank AG, the world's largest currency trader. ``The euro still looks expensive. Other European currencies are also likely to fall.''
Policy makers voted unanimously to lower the benchmark U.K. interest rate by a half point to 4.5 percent in an emergency meeting this month, according to minutes of the Oct. 8 decision released by the Bank of England today in London. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee said the economy had ``deteriorated substantially,'' which would slow inflation from more than double the 2 percent target.
Barclays Capital forecast that the bank rate will fall to 3 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009.
The yen also rose against all of the major currencies on speculation a slowing global economy will prompt investors to pare holdings of higher-yielding assets funded in Japan.

EUR/USD in profit taking bounced up to $1.2930, before fell back to $1.2850.

- Euribor has come down significantly last few days

Oil and metals are also lower on back of decline in commodity prices, with ConnocoPhillips lower ahead of earnings report today. Also due to report in US is Amazon.com, AT&T, Boeing Company, McDonald's, Merck & Co,Northern Trust, Philip Morris International, Travelers Companies and Wachovia amongst the biggest names to report. CAC-40 is down 107pts (-3.06%), Xetra-DAX is down 162pts (-3.37%) and FTSE-100 is down 132pts (-3.11%).

The euro fell below $1.28 for the first time since November 2006 and the pound tumbled to a five- year low on speculation European central banks will cut interest rates as the global economy heads for recession.
The single European currency also slid to the weakest in more than four years versus the yen as global stocks declined, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan. The pound declined to a one-week low versus the euro after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the U.K. is probably in a recession.
``People now realize that there is a lot of catch-up to be played by the European central banks and from a much higher starting point than in the U.S.,'' said Michael Rosborough, a foreign-exchange strategist at Citigroup Inc. in London.
Rosborough forecast the euro will fall to $1.26 in a month, with ``a bias to believing it could go lower than that.''
The euro extended losses today on speculation efforts by global governments and central banks to revive credit markets will fail to avoid a worldwide recession.
``Expectations for rate cuts in Europe and the U.K. are growing stronger by the day because of the weak economic outlook,'' said Koji Fukaya, senior currency strategist at the Tokyo unit of Deutsche Bank AG, the world's largest currency trader. ``The euro still looks expensive. Other European currencies are also likely to fall.''
Policy makers voted unanimously to lower the benchmark U.K. interest rate by a half point to 4.5 percent in an emergency meeting this month, according to minutes of the Oct. 8 decision released by the Bank of England today in London. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee said the economy had ``deteriorated substantially,'' which would slow inflation from more than double the 2 percent target.
Barclays Capital forecast that the bank rate will fall to 3 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009.
The yen also rose against all of the major currencies on speculation a slowing global economy will prompt investors to pare holdings of higher-yielding assets funded in Japan.

Resistance 3: Y101.40
Resistance 2: Y100.60
Resistance 1: Y100.10
Current price: Y98.60
Support 1: Y98.50
Support 2: Y97.50
Support 3: Y96.80
Comments: Dollar-yen is trading near its session low. The bears clearly focus on the Y98.50 and Y97.90 lows. However, daily stochastic remains in neutral territory with the 10-day momentum study risking a bullish cross of the zero line. This warns against getting too carried away with the current pullback and suggests profit-taking on any return to Oct 10 low Y97.90. Hourly highs Y100.10 and Y100.50 Tenkan line of the Ichimoku cloud likely to cap the upside. Y101.40 and Y102.20 lie further up.

Resistance 3: Chf1.1980
Resistance 2: Chf1.1890
Resistance 1: Chf1.1780
Current price: Chf1.1674
Support 1: Chf1.1600
Support 2: Chf1.1480
Support 3: Chf1.1400

Comments: Dollar keeps positive mood having pierced resent highs in the Chf1.1590/00 area. If the break proves to be sustained the fresh upside impetus to Chf1.1780/00 area is likely (38.2% of Chf1.5305-0.9630 and channel top). Closest support spotted at Chf1.1600. Fall below previous resistance at Chf 1.1480/00 to bring further the test of Chf1.1400 (previous resistance and lower bound of the upside channel).

Crude oil prices are trading near 16-month lows on continued concerns about global recession which are outweiging talk of a potential OPEC output cut. Attention turns to the DoE weekly inventory data at 1435 GMT, where oil analysts expect build in crude oil supplies of 2.65mln barrels in the week ending October 17. Gasoline supplies are expected to rise 2.7mln barrels and distillate supplies are seen up 300k barrels. WTI Nymex crude oil trades at $69.23, down $2.95 on the session.

Resistance 3: $1.6710
Resistance 2: $1.6600
Resistance 1: $1.6430
Current price: $1.6405
Support 1: $1.6200
Support 2: $1.5960
Support 3: $1.5870

Comments: Following last week's continuation triangle, cable has extended sharply lower and the move has exceeded the triangle target as well as the Bollinger band ($1.6430) which should slow losses. However,the trend is clearly lower and bears will focus on further projection levels to $1.6209 and eventually to $1.5960, which represents a 100% projection of the July/Sep decline. Daily studies have made a bearish cross and are well above oversold territory, although hourly studies are understandably oversold. Resistance is at $1.6600 ahead of $1.6710.

Resistance 3:$1.3140
Resistance 2: $1.3050
Resistance 1: $1.2980
Current price: $1.2915
Support 1: $1.2740
Support 2: $1.2660
Support 3: $1.2590
Comments: The euro bounced back from 20-month low against the dollar posted at $1.2745/50 on speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to bolster growth as the global economy heads for recession. Closest resistance levels are 61.8% retracement of the $1.3350- $1.2745 move at $1.2980, and 50% near $1.3050.
$1.2680/60 represents 76.4% retracement of the euro rally from November 2005 to July 2008 and Oct-Nov 2006 lows. Further supports are Sep 2005 high $1.2590 and July 2006 low at $1.2460.

The dollar posted new 18-month high against the euro after yesterday U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke called for further government stimulus measures to avert a prolonged recession.
The greenback was also close to its strongest in a week versus the yen after the White House said it may back such measures, having previously withheld support for additions to a $168 billion package approved in February. The Australian dollar declined after the central bank said it saw a ``strong economic case'' for its Oct. 7 interest-rate reduction, fueling speculation it may cut borrowing costs further.
``An additional stimulus package will support the dollar,'' said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``This show that U.S. officials are prepared to go far to limit damage to the economy.''
U.S. Lawmakers should consider ``measures to help improve access to credit by consumers, homebuyers, businesses and other borrowers,'' Bernanke said in testimony to the House Budget Committee yesterday. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said officials are ``open'' to the idea of a new plan.
Traders expect the European Central Bank to lower borrowing costs further after cutting the main refinancing rate by half a percentage point to 3.75 percent on Oct. 8 as part of coordinated reductions by major central banks.
The implied yield on the three-month Euribor contract expiring in March fell to 3.41 percent yesterday, the lowest level in seven months. The yield has been 0.23 percentage point higher than the benchmark rate on average over the past year.
``Concerns over a European economic downturn are intensifying,'' said Ryohei Muramatsu, manager of Group Treasury Asia at Commerzbank AG in Tokyo. ``An ECB rate cut is possible. The euro is becoming a very weak currency.''
The yen climbed to a three-year high against the euro and gained versus the dollar on bets central banks will lower borrowing costs to limit the global economic slump, encouraging investors to sell higher-yielding assets.
Canada's dollar dropped to the lowest against the greenback since August 2005 as the central bank cut its main lending rate. Australia's currency fell as policy makers signaled they may cut borrowing costs further. The dollar rose to a 19-month high against the euro on bets the European Central Bank will reduce interest rates at a faster pace than the Federal Reserve.
``The element of risk aversion helps the dollar and the yen, which has been the trend for a while,'' said Paresh Upadhyaya, who helps manage $50 billion in currency assets as a senior vice president at Putnam Investments LLC in Boston. ``The convergence of interest rates will overtake the risk aversion element to become the most important support for the dollar going forward.''
``It's probably lending support to the dollar as investors pull their money out of emerging-market countries,'' said Richard Franulovich, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in New York.
Canada's currency dropped as much as 2.5 percent to C$1.2208 per U.S. dollar after the Bank of Canada reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 2.25 percent. Policy makers said in a statement that ``some further monetary stimulus will likely be required.''
The Australian dollar fell 2.6 percent to 68.63 U.S. cents as minutes of the Reserve Bank's Oct. 7 meeting showed policy makers said inflation will slow at a faster rate than previously expected as the economy slows, fueling expectations for another cut. They lowered the rate at this month's meeting by 1 percentage point, the most since 1992, to 6 percent.
Investors bet the ECB will lower borrowing costs by another 0.75 percentage point by June after cutting the main refinancing rate by a half-percentage point to 3.75 percent on Oct. 8, part of coordinated reductions by major central banks.
``The economic fallout of the crisis will lead to more aggressive policy actions in major countries,'' said Tom Fitzpatrick, global head of currency strategy at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``The yen and the dollar will be the beneficiaries.''
The ICE futures Exchange's Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback versus the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, touched 83.70 today, the strongest since March 14.

The calendar is likely to be dominated by the minutes of the latest Bank of England MPC meeting, which are due at 0830 GMT.
US data is limited for Wednesday, starting at 1100GMT with the weekly MBA Mortgage Application Index and followed at 1400GMT by BLS Mass Layoffs and at 1435GMT by the weekly Crude Oil Stocks data.

Nikkei +300.66 +3.3% 9 306.25
Topix +29.27 +3.2% 956.64
FTSE -52.94 -1.24% 4,229.73
DAX -50.60 -1.05% 4,784.41
CAC +26.89 +0.78% 3,475.40
Dow -231.77 -2.50% 9,033.66
NASDAQ -73.35 -4.14% 1,696.68
S&P -30.35 -3.08%   955.05
10yr Note -1.8300 -0.471% 3.703%
NYMEX Crude Oil -3.36 -4.53% 70.89
Gold -22.00 -2.78% 768.00



Japan stocks climbed a third day on speculation stimulus plans will jump-start economic growth in the U.S. and at home, and as a rise in oil boosted resource shares.
Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-biggest carmaker, climbed 6.8 percent. Oil explorer Inpex Corp., which has lost more than half of its value in the past five months, added 9.6 percent. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan's second-biggest developer, jumped 9.2 percent to a three-week high after a lending rate between banks fell the most in nine months, easing funding concerns.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 300.66, or 3.3 percent, to close at 9,306.25 in Tokyo, bringing its three-day gain to 10 percent. The broader Topix index rose 29.27, or 3.2 percent, to 956.64, with more than three stocks rising for each that slumped.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday said U.S. lawmakers should consider new measures to improve access to credit for consumers and businesses. Meanwhile, tax cuts in a proposed economic stimulus package in Japan may reach 2 trillion yen ($19.7 billion), the Mainichi newspaper said today.
Today's rise extends the Nikkei's 5 percent gain last week, which followed its record 24 percent plunge in the five days ending Oct. 10. The gauge has slumped more than a third this year as the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market toppled financial companies and slowed global economic growth.
Honda, which derives about half its profit from North America, added 6.8 percent to 2,435 yen, while Toyota Motor Corp. gained 5 percent to 3,790 yen. Canon Inc., which gets a third of its sales from the Americas, rose 5.5 percent to 3,460 yen.
Inpex, the nation's biggest oil and gas explorer, advanced 9.6 percent to 683,000 yen after having fallen 56 percent from a record 1.4 million yen on May 19. Mitsubishi Corp., a trading house that gets more than half its profit from commodities, rose 6.2 percent to 1,848 yen, while smaller rival Mitsui & Co. jumped 7.5 percent to 1,074 yen.
Mitsubishi Estate surged 9.2 percent to 2,055 yen, while market leader Mitsui Fudosan Co. rose 6 percent to 1,937 yen. Nomura Real Estate Office Fund Inc. soared 15 percent to 621,000 yen, its steepest increase on record.



European stocks fell for the first time in three days as disappointing earnings and lowered forecasts deepened concern the economic slowdown will curb profit, overshadowing government efforts to shore up banks.
STMicroelectronics NV and Infineon Technologies AG, the region's biggest computer-chip makers, sank more than 3 percent after Texas Instruments Inc.'s earnings forecast missed analysts' estimates. Logitech International AG slumped 8.8 percent as the world's biggest maker of computer mice cut its prediction for sales. Hannover Re tumbled 13 percent after posting a loss and abandoning its earnings target.
National benchmark indexes fell in 10 of the 18 western European markets. Germany's DAX Index decreased 1.1 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 1.2 percent, and France's CAC 40 added 0.8 percent.
STMicroelectronics slid 3.2 percent to 6.39 euros. Infineon, Europe's second-largest chipmaker, dropped 5.4 percent to 2.615 euros.
Texas Instruments reported a 27 percent decline in third- quarter profit and said sales will fall as much as 20 percent this period.
Logitech slumped 8.8 percent to 18.25 francs. The company cut its forecasts for sales and profit, citing concerns over slowing economic growth.
Hannover Re sank 13 percent to 19.22 euros. Germany's second-biggest reinsurer abandoned its profit target after losing money in the first nine months of the year on declining stock investments and above-average catastrophe claims.
Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas SA climbed as the French government said it will buy subordinated debt issued by the country's six biggest banks and money-market rates fell.
The cost of borrowing in euros for three months fell to the lowest level since Lehman collapsed. The euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, for such loans dropped 3 basis points to 4.97 percent today, the European Banking Federation said.
The comparable London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for dollar loans slid to 3.83 percent from 4.06 percent, the British Bankers' Association said. The overnight dollar rate slid 23 basis points to 1.28 percent, below the Federal Reserve's target for the first time since Oct. 3.
Societe Generale, France's second-biggest bank, climbed 10 percent to 48.425 euros. BNP Paribas, the nation's largest bank, added 7.5 percent to 59 euros. Societe Generale and BNP along with four other banks will get 10.5 billion euros ($14 billion) from the French government, tapping for the first time the 360 billion-euro state rescue package unveiled this month.
BNP and Societe Generale led a decline in the cost of protecting bank bonds from default. Credit-default swaps on the Markit iTraxx Financial index of contracts linked to 25 European banks and insurers fell 3 basis points to 101, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices.
Volkswagen AG fell 12 percent to 242.75 euros, extending yesterday's 23 percent plunge as investors short-sold the shares on speculation that the price will decline once Porsche SE gains control of Europe's biggest carmaker.
Actelion Ltd. climbed 3.2 percent to 57.4 francs as Switzerland's biggest biotechnology company said third-quarter profit rose because of increased sales of the Tracleer lung disease medicine.


The stock market posted a large loss on Tuesday as several companies posted quarterly earnings misses and cautious outlooks that overshadowed signs of improvement in the credit markets. In addition, investors digested news the U.S. government plans to take additional steps to shore up money market mutual funds.
The S&P 500 spent the entirety of the session in negative territory, although it did see large swings. The Index traded near the unchanged mark with an hour of trade left, but a surge of selling interest sent it to session lows to settle with a loss of 3.1%.
It was an extremely busy session on the earnings front. Results were mixed -- of the 77 companies that reported earnings after yesterday's close and before this session's open, 52% topped estimates, 35% missed and 13% were in-line. Outlooks were cautious -- of the 49 companies that issued guidance, 45% were negative, 30% were in-line, 21% were mixed and only 3% were positive.
Some notable names that topped third quarter earnings estimates include 3M (MMM 60.02, +2.51), American Express (AXP 26.33, +1.98), DuPont (DD 33.32, -2.85), Pfizer (PFE 17.35, +0.01) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 84.43, -8.79). DuPont and Lockheed, however, issued downside earnings guidance for their fourth quarter and full year.
The more widely held companies that missed estimates include BlackRock (BLK 129.24, -13.98), Caterpillar (CAT 38.84, -2.06), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 32.81, -3.91) and Texas Instruments (TXN 16.85, -1.13). Texas Instruments also gave a downside fourth quarter earnings outlook, citing a slowdown in orders.
With regard to the government's latest effort, the Fed will buy commercial paper -- which is short-term corporate debt that many businesses rely on -- from money market mutual funds. The Fed said it created the facility because money market mutual funds and other investors have had difficulty selling assets to satisfy redemption requests and meet portfolio rebalancing needs. The Fed had already announced plans to buy commercial paper directly from companies.
While the need to have the Fed shore up money market funds shows that the financial markets remain considerably strained, there continue to be signs of improvement. The rates banks charge each other for short-term dollar loans, measured by Libor, decreased across all terms.
In the end all ten sectors posted a decline in broad-based weakness. Volume was on the light side with 1.16 billion shares exchanging hands on the NYSE, which is short of the one-year average of 1.49 billion.
The tech sector (-5.6%) posted a large decline due to the 6.3% drop in Texas Instruments. An earnings warning from Sun Microsystems (JAVA 4.78, -1.00) also weighed on the sector.
The energy sector fell 4.3% as crude prices dropped 4.5% to $70.89 per barrel. The drop in crude prices was fueled by global economic concerns and a 1.5% surge in the dollar.
The materials sector declined 5.7% after copper producer Freeport-McMoRan plunged 11%.
The financial sector outperformed on a relative basis with a loss of 1.8%. Strength in American Express helped offset weakness in BlackRock and Citigroup (C 14.17, -0.92), with the latter company being added to the Conviction Sell list at Goldman Sachs, according to reports.

-- Says confidence among banks to gradually return
-- When asked on further rate cuts, says "I can't speculate".

The euro fell to a 20-month low against the dollar on speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to bolster growth as the global economy heads for recession.
The single European currency also slid to the weakest in four years versus the yen as Asian stocks declined, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan. The British pound tumbled to a five-year low after Bank of England GovernorMervyn King said the country is likely in a recession. The Australian and New Zealand dollars dropped after prices of commodities the two countries export declined.
``It's easy to sell the euro,'' said Hiroshi Yoshida, a foreign-exchange trader in Tokyo at Shinkin Central Bank, Japan's fifth-largest publicly traded lender by assets. ``The ECB has a lot of scope to lower rates. Market sentiment isn't in theeuro's favor.''


EUR/USD from $1.3050, euro fell to $1.2740 before bounsed back to $1.2880.

Resistance 3: Y101.40
Resistance 2: Y100.60
Resistance 1: Y100.10
Current price: Y99.30
Support 1: Y99.20
Support 2: Y98.50
Support 3: Y97.90
Comments: Dollar-yen is trading near its session low, despite bouncing off Y99.40 earlier in the day. It retraced its route back toward the Y100.60 high but only got as far as Y100.49 before then slipping back to Y100.00. The bears will clearly focus on the Y99.20/30 and Y97.90 lows. However, daily stochastic remains in neutral territory with the 10-day momentum study risking a bullish cross of the zero line. This warns against getting too carried away with the current pullback and suggests profit-taking on any return to Oct 10 low Y97.90. Hourly highs Y100.10 and Y100.50 Tenkan line of the Ichimoku cloud likely to cap the upside. Y101.40 and Y102.20 lie further up.

Resistance 3: Chf1.1980
Resistance 2: Chf1.1890
Resistance 1: Chf1.1780
Current price: Chf1.1674
Support 1: Chf1.1480
Support 2: Chf1.1400
Support 3: Chf1.1280

Comments: Dollar keeps positive mood having pierced resent highs in the Chf1.1590/00 area. If the break proves to be sustained the fresh upside impetus to Chf1.1780/00 area is likely (38.2% of Chf1.5305-0.9630 and channel top). Fall below previous support atChf 1.1480 to bring retracement but Chf1.1400 (previous resistance and lower bound of the upside channel to remain intact, yield rebound.

Resistance 3: $1.6710
Resistance 2: $1.6600
Resistance 1: $1.6430
Current price: $1.6265
Support 1: $1.6200
Support 2: $1.5960
Support 3: $1.5870

Comments: Following last week's continuation triangle, cable has extended sharply lower and the move has exceeded the triangle target as well as the Bollinger band ($1.6430) which should slow losses. However,the trend is clearly lower and bears will focus on further projection levels to $1.6209 and eventually to $1.5960, which represents a 100% projection of the July/Sep decline. Daily studies have made a bearish cross and are well above oversold territory, although hourly studies are understandably oversold. Resistance is at $1.6600 ahead of $1.6710.

Resistance 3:$1.3050
Resistance 2: $1.2980
Resistance 1: $1.2880
Current price: $1.2845
Support 1: $1.2740
Support 2: $1.2660
Support 3: $1.2590
Comments: The euro fell to a 20-month low against the dollar near $1.2745/50 on speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to bolster growth as the global economy heads for recession. There was also talk that dollar demand over the last 24 hours is linked toredemptions in hedge funds.
Daily studies and hourlies are oversold but the daily studies are not at extreme levels. Subsequently, the euro still has room for further declines.
$1.2680/60 represents 76.4% retracement of the euro rally from November 2005 to July 2008 and Oct-Nov 2006 lows. Further supports are Sep 2005 high $1.2590 and July 2006 low at $1.2460.
The speed of the decline means resistance levels are limited nearby. $1.2880 is 76.4% retracement of the $1.3350- $1.2745 move. 61.8% of this move lies at $1.2980, and 50% near $1.3050. 5-DMA is currently back up at $1.3225.

The Dec S&P contract was last down 17.10 points at 942.20, with the Nasdaq Dec contract unchanged at 1292.50.

The Shanghai Composite Index end the day down 62.71 points, or 3.2%, at 1,895.82, in line with other Asian stock markets. The Shanghai index traded between 1,894.31 and 1,950.79 today.

NYMEX crude for December delivery was down $1.01 a barrel at $71.17 on the Globex electronic trading platform.

High Low Close
EUR/USD 1.3352 1.3046 1.3054
USD/JPY 102.15 100.14 100.35
GBP/USD 1.7197 1.6649 1.6690
USD/CHF 1.1591 1.1485 1.1525

EUR/JPY 136.36 130.60 130.96
EUR/GBP 0.7838 0.7734 0.7820
GBP/JPY 175.56 166.77 167.49
GBP/CHF 1.9791 1.9211 1.9235


Change % Change Last
Nikkei +300.66 +3.3% 9 306.25
Topix +29.27 +3.2% 956.64
FTSE -52.94 -1.24% 4,229.73
DAX -50.60 -1.05% 4,784.41
CAC +26.89 +0.78% 3,475.40
Dow -231.77 -2.50% 9,033.66
NASDAQ -73.35 -4.14% 1,696.68
S&P -30.35 -3.08% 955.05
10yr Note -1.8300 -0.471% 3.703%
NYMEX Crude Oil -3.36 -4.53% 70.89
Gold -22.00 -2.78% 768.00

00:30 Australia Consumer Price Index (YoY) (3Q) 5.0% 4.5%
00:30 Australia Consumer Price Index (QoQ) (3Q) 1.2% 1.5%
08:30 UK Bank of England Minutes
12:30 Canada Retail sales excluding auto (August) 0.4%
12:30 Canada Retail sales (August) 0.1%
14:35 USA EIA Crude Oil Stocks change (Okt 17) 8.1M
20:00 New Zealand RBNZ meeting announcement 6,50% 7,50%
23:00 Japan Trade balance (September) unadjusted, trln -0,324