Strength in the dollar index, which is near session highs, is weighing on the majority of the commodity complex this morning.

May crude oil was trading back near the $80 level earlier, but never broke through that level in earlier trade as it hit morning lows of $80.16 per barrel. Ahead of today's inventory data, crude was trading approx. 1.7% lower at $80.49 per barrel. Following the data, which showed a build of 7.2 million, significantly higher than consensus, which called for a build of 1.65 million, crude ticked to fresh session lows of $79.88 per barrel and is currently 2.1% lower at $80.21 per barrel.

April natural gas trended lower overnight and in morning action before hitting session lows of $4.05 per MMBtu around 8:30am ET. Shortly after pit trading open, natural gas rallied, but ran into resistance once it moved into positive territory. In current trade, natural gas is 0.3% lower at $4.12 per MMBtu.

Precious metals trended lower overnight along with crude and hit session lows shortly after floor trading began. April gold and May silver hit session lows of $1087.60 per ounce and $16.55 per ounce, respectively, and are currently just above those levels. Gold is trading 1.1% lower at $1091.60 per ounce, while silver is 1.9% lower at $16.70 per ounce.

Rekindled concerns regarding sovereign debt drove the dollar to its best single-session percentage gain since December, but moderate weakness mired the broader equity market for the entire session.

Distress about the fiscal health of the PIIGS contingent, which includes Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, returned to the forefront with news that analysts at Fitch trimmed Portugal's sovereign debt rating to AA- from AA. The announcement dropped the euro to a 10-month low against the dollar, but bolstered the Dollar Index, which closed trade with a near 1.4% gain at a new 10-month high.

The greenback's gain hampered stocks for the entire session. Weakness was also widespread among stocks, such that declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 3-to-1 in the S&P 500.

Financials were the only major sector to find any lasting support in the face of the broad-based slide, even after Senator Dodd stated that President Obama would like to move quickly on a financial reform bill and Kansas City Fed President Hoenig stated that it is unlikely that banks have recognized all of their financial losses. Financials finished with a 0.2% gain. No other major sector settled in positive territory.

There were a few individual names that outperformed, though. Following better-than-expected earnings, both Darden Restaurants (DRI 44.91, +1.00) and Lennar (LEN 17.69, +0.63) hit a fresh 52-week, while Adobe (ADBE 36.51, +1.29) logged its best single-session percentage advance in three months.

General Mills (GIS 72.18, -1.39) wasn't so fortunate. The company beat the consensus earnings estimate and raised guidance for the year, but its outlook was still shy of what Wall Street had forecast for fiscal 2010.
Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips (COP 52.53, +0.02) had a choppy session despite its plans for higher dividends and share repurchases and the intent to halve its equity ownership in LUKOIL. Sharply lower oil prices bogged down most of the energy complex.
Oil prices fell as low as $79.88 per barrel as a stronger dollar and a larger-than-expected 7.2 million barrel build in weekly inventories conspired against the commodity. Contracts for crude closed pit trade 1.6% lower at $80.61 per barrel.

Volatility spiked after the Volatility Index had just set a 52-week low last week. The VIX surged 7.3% in its sharpest hike since February this session.
Meanwhile, trading volume was solid, but not very impressive as 1.0 billion shares exchanged hands on the NYSE.

Treasuries failed to find support. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note dropped more than one full point. That has lifted its yield to a one-month high near 3.85%. Pressure against Treasuries intensified after results from a $42 billion auction of 5-year Notes showed a yield of nearly 2.61%, a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.55, and an indirect bid of 39.7%. The 5-year Note fell 25 ticks so that it now yields almost 2.60%.

Though it featured some surprises, economic data proved inconsequential this session. New home sales for February decreased 2.2% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 308,000 units, which was not only worse than expected, but also an all-time low. Further, Inventories increased for the third consecutive month as builders currently carry 9.2 months of supply, which is the highest level since May 2009.

Meanwhile, durable goods orders for February climbed 0.5% and orders less transportation increased 0.9%. The headline number was in stride with expectations, but the latter number was actually stronger than expected.

Crude up as earnings buoy outlook

Crude oil for June delivery, the most active contract, rose $1.19, or 1.5%, to $84.32 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude for May delivery, the front-month contract, gained $1.79, or 2.2%, to $83.27 a barrel. The contract expires at the end of trading Tuesday.


Supply data ahead

The American Petroleum Institute will report supply data at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. The DOE's Energy Information Administration will release its data on petroleum inventories on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Analysts polled by Platts expect the data to show a commercial-crude-stock build of 300,000 barrels for the week ended April 16. They also project an increase of 100,000 barrels in gasoline stocks and a build of 840,000 barrels in distillate inventories.

Refinery utilization is expected to rise by 0.34 percentage points to 85.94%.

U.S. crude stocks fell 2.2 million barrels in the week ended April 9 after ten weeks of steady builds.

Also on Comex Tuesday, May reformulated gasoline gained a penny to $2.27 a gallon and May heating-oil futures rose a penny to $2.17 a gallon.

Gold futures bounce back from two-week lows

Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, added $8.10, or 0.7%, to $1,143.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Stock Exchange.


Gold's recent pullback "has seen some long-standing long positions cleared out, which may help the longer-term bullish picture," said Action Economics, noting that investors' practice of buying on dips has left the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) , the world's biggest exchanged-traded fund backing the metal, unchanged at an all-time holdings high of about 1,141 metric tons.

Among the other metals, palladium for June delivery rose $16, or 3%, to $549.70 an ounce, again touching highs not seen since March 2008 and so far besting April 14's close of $548 an ounce.

July platinum gained $21.90, or 1.3%, to $1,718.50 an ounce, while May silver added 17 cents, or 0.9%, to $17.90 an ounce.

Platinum and palladium rose to their highest levels in about two years on Wednesday as corporate earnings pointed to higher demand for raw materials.


"Upbeat earnings results have reinforced economic recovery hopes and boosted the outlook for commodities generally," said analysts at Action Economics.

Gold gave up earlier gains after rising from a two-week low struck earlier in the week.

Palladium for June delivery climbed $16.85, or 3%, to $568.25 an ounce, the most since March 2008.

Palladium is benefiting from investment demand and as imports to China remain robust, said strategists at Barclays Capital. Palladium is used in manufactured goods including electronics, catalytic converters and fuel cells.

Platinum for July delivery added $18.50, or 1%, to $1,740.30 an ounce, the highest level since July 2008.

Platinum is used in jewelry as well as industrial goods.

Canadian stocks fall as commodity prices sink



By Liana B. Baker (lbaker@marketwatch.com), MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Canadian stocks sputtered Thursday as commodity prices fell worldwide, largely thanks to deficit woes in Greece and gains in the U.S. dollar on the euro.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index /quotes/comstock/11t!i:isptx (CA:ISPTX (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/ISPTX?countrycode=ca) 12,053, -81.99, -0.68%) fell 0.7%, surrendering 114 points to stand at 12,048. Earlier in the session, the Canadian equities benchmark had fallen more than 1%.
Among the biggest decliners, shares of aircraft and rail-vehicle maker Bombardier /quotes/comstock/11t!e:bbd.b (CA:BBD.B (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BBD.B?countrycode=ca) 5.31, -0.13, -2.39%) fell 2.6%, and Suncor Energy /quotes/comstock/11t!e:su (CA:SU (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SU?countrycode=ca) 33.51, -0.53, -1.56%) sank 2%.
Also lower, shares of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion /quotes/comstock/11t!e:rim (CA:RIM (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/RIM?countrycode=ca) 70.01, -1.56, -2.18%) /quotes/comstock/15*!rimm/quotes/nls/rimm (RIMM (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/RIMM) 70.26, -1.34, -1.87%) tumbled 1.7%.

Falling gold prices hurt Canadian mining stocks. Gold for June delivery lost $14.10, or 1.2%, to $1,134.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of Inmet Mining Corp. /quotes/comstock/11t!e:imn (CA:IMN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/IMN?countrycode=ca) 56.31, -1.18, -2.05%) dropped 2.4% and Kinross Gold Corp. /quotes/comstock/11t!e:k (CA:K (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/K?countrycode=ca) 17.94, -0.05, -0.28%) fell 0.7%.
The Canadian dollar gained some steam after the Bank of Canada released its monetary-policy report on Thursday.
One U.S. dollar was buying C$1.0009, although the greenback made sizable gains on the euro as a result of fresh jitters over Greece, whose sovereign credit rating was lowered by Moody's Investors Service.

In Ottawa, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney said the central bank's new report reflects how the Canadian economy is expected to return to full capacity earlier than had been projected and how stimulus measures can start to be removed.
"With recent improvements in the economic outlook, the need for such extraordinary policy is now passing, and it is appropriate to begin to lessen the degree of monetary stimulus," Carney said.
Earlier this week, the Bank of Canada removed its conditional commitment on keeping interest rates at record lows until mid-summer.

Shares of the following companies were among those making noteworthy moves in the U.S. stock market on Friday:




Acacia Research Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!actg/quotes/nls/actg (ACTG (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ACTG) 14.40, +2.85, +24.68%) shares rose 25% after the technology-licensing company reported first-quarter results.
Dover Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!dov/quotes/nls/dov (DOV (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/DOV) 54.08, +3.83, +7.62%) shares gained 7.8% after the diversified industrial products maker reported first-quarter profit more than doubled.

Eastman Chemical Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!emn/quotes/nls/emn (EMN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/EMN) 70.14, +3.02, +4.50%) shares added nearly 5% after the company said it might sell its plastic packaging business.
Ericsson /quotes/comstock/15*!eric/quotes/nls/eric (ERIC (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ERIC) 12.20, +0.94, +8.35%) rose 8.4%. The world's largest telecommunications equipment maker reported a profit drop but said margins improved.

International Game Technology /quotes/comstock/13*!igt/quotes/nls/igt (IGT (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/IGT) 21.04, +1.44, +7.35%) shares were up 8.2% after the slot-machine maker late Thursday reported quarterly results.
Lennar Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!len/quotes/nls/len (LEN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/LEN) 20.73, +0.99, +5.00%) shares advanced 5%.
Sauer-Danfoss Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!shs/quotes/nls/shs (SHS (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SHS) 17.75, +2.17, +13.93%) shares climbed 17% after the maker of hydraulic systems rejected the latest buyout offer from it majority shareholder.

Schlumberger Ltd. /quotes/comstock/13*!slb/quotes/nls/slb (SLB (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SLB) 72.66, +4.48, +6.57%) shares were up 6% after the world's biggest oilfield-services company issued an upbeat outlook.

Smith International Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!sii/quotes/nls/sii (SII (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SII) 49.03, +3.12, +6.80%) shares advanced 6.2%.
Synaptics Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!syna/quotes/nls/syna (SYNA (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SYNA) 33.25, +2.75, +9.02%) shares rose 9.5% after the provider of touchscreen technology said it would buy as much as $100 million of stock.
Western Digital Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!wdc/quotes/nls/wdc (WDC (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/WDC) 44.09, +3.41, +8.38%) shares rose 8.4% after the manufacturer of hard disk drives reported quarterly results.

Xerox Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!xrx/quotes/nls/xrx (XRX (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/XRX) 11.27, +0.82, +7.85%) shares rose 8.6% after the printing and office equipment supplier raised its profit outlook.
Decliners

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!acur/quotes/nls/acur (ACUR (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ACUR) 4.03, -1.87, -31.65%) shares fell 32% after the company and partner King Pharmaceuticals Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!kg/quotes/nls/kg (KG (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/KG) 10.46, -0.64, -5.77%) did not obtain a U.S. panel's support to sell an experimental painkiller.
DeVry Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!dv/quotes/nls/dv (DV (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/DV) 68.86, -5.39, -7.26%) shares fell 7.1% after the for-profit education provider reported quarterly results.

Rockwell Collins Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!col/quotes/nls/col (COL (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/COL) 65.17, -2.68, -3.94%) shares declined 5% after the avionic-equipment maker and government contractor reported a smaller quarterly profit.

Energy stocks rose at midday Friday after moving lower earlier in the session, as oil service shares advanced on the heels of upbeat comments from Schlumberger.





Schlumberger said its first-quarter profit fell 28%, but the company said it remains upbeat about better market conditions in 2010.

Among stocks in the spotlight, RB Capital Markets on Friday initiated coverage of Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom (XOM (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/XOM) 68.53, -0.03, -0.04%) with a sector perform rating and a price target of $80 a share.

Analysts said Exxon Mobil offers a return on capital of about 19% in 2010 and 2011, which is approximately 50% higher than the peer-group average.

While upstream production volumes have declined in recent years, this should change in 2010-2014 due to internal growth and Exxon Mobil's pending acquisition of XTO Energy /quotes/comstock/13*!xto/quotes/nls/xto (XTO (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/XTO) 48.14, -0.10, -0.21%) , RBC analysts noted.

Updates, advisories and surprises






Iron Mountain 1st-period net off 11%; revenue up
(6:51 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Iron Mountain Inc., /quotes/comstock/13*!irm/quotes/nls/irm (IRM (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/IRM) 28.00, +0.67, +2.45%) the Boston provider of information-management services, reported first-quarter net income fell 11% to $26 million from $29 million in the year-earlier period. Earnings per share were 12 cents against 14 cents, reflecting a higher effective tax rate. Adjusted earnings were 23 cents a share against 19 cents. Revenue rose 7% to $777 million from $723 million. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced the consensus estimate of 22 cents of profit on $778.2 million of revenue. Gross-profit margin widened to 58.1% in the quarter from 56.2%.

Bunge cuts 2010 outlook after earnings miss
(6:43 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Agrichemicals group Bunge /quotes/comstock/13*!bg/quotes/nls/bg (BG (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BG) 57.28, +0.95, +1.69%) swung to a first-quarter profit but cut its 2010 outlook. Bunge earned $63 million, or 31 cents a share, after revenue rose 12% to $10.35 billion, after losing $195 million in the prior-year period. While Bunge said its agribusiness performed well, lower volumes and margins weighed on fertilizer, where results were weaker than expected. It's expecting annual earnings between $5.30 and $5.80 a share, down from $5.75 to $6.25. Analysts polled by FactSet expected quarterly earnings of 74 cents a share and annual earnings of $5.49.

KBR's quarterly profit down 40%
(6:39 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- U.S. engineering and construction firm KBR Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!kbr/quotes/nls/kbr (KBR (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/KBR) 23.95, +0.53, +2.26%) said Thursday its first-quarter net profit dropped to $46 million, or 29 cents per share, compared to $77 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Analysts expected earnings of 39 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Consolidated revenue dropped to $2.6 billion from $3.2 billion. "Our expectations are that our performance in the remaining quarters in 2010 will improve and we remain comfortable with our previous outlook for 2010," KBR said.

Potash Corp.'s quarterly profit up 46%
(6:30 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!pot/quotes/nls/pot (POT (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/POT) 105.20, -3.81, -3.50%) said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 46% to $1.47 per share, or $449.2 million, from $1.01 per share, or $307.4 million, earned in the same period last year. Analysts expected earnings of $1.30 a share, according to FactSet Research. In the three months ended March 31, sales rose to $1.71 billion from $922.5 million. Potash Corp. said it expected 2010 net income per share in the range of $4.50-$5.25, including $1.00-$1.30 in the second quarter. "We believe the higher demand we are seeing today is a precursor to a longer-term rebound as farmers strive to catch up on applications missed in 2009 and work to meet the increasing need for food production in the years ahead," the firm said.

Ball's first-quarter profit rose 14%
(6:30 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Packaging company Ball Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bll/quotes/nls/bll (BLL (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BLL) 54.56, -0.04, -0.07%) on Thursday said first-quarter net income rose 14% to $79.3 million, or 84 cents a share, from $69.5 million, or 73 cents a share, earned in the year-earlier quarter. The consensus forecast called for earnings of 75 cents a share, according to a poll of 11 analysts conducted by FactSet Research. Sales climbed nearly 8% to $1.7 billion. The company reiterated its forecast for fiscal 2010 earnings to be higher than in 2009.

Aetna first-quarter profit up 29%
(6:29 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Health-insurance giant Aetna /quotes/comstock/13*!aet/quotes/nls/aet (AET (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/AET) 30.50, +0.49, +1.63%) on Thursday said first-quarter net income rose to $562.6 million, or $1.28 a share, from $437.8 million, or 95 cents a share, in the same period last year. The company said operating earnings, excluding prior-period developments, were 77 cents a share, down from $1.01 a share in the first quarter of last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast earnings of 71 cents a share. The company said total revenue fell 1% to $8.54 billion.

Time Warner Cable net climbs 30.5%
(6:27 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Time Warner Cable /quotes/comstock/13*!twc/quotes/nls/twc (TWC (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/TWC) 53.13, -0.15, -0.28%) said its first-quarter profit rose 30.5% to $214 million, or 60 cents a share, from $164 million, or 48 cents a share, as revenue rose to $4.6 billion from $4.36 billion.

Excluding items, it would have earned 82 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 73 cents a share. The company said it added 276,000 primary service units to take the total to 26.6 million, with a net 82,000 double play and 73,000 triple play additional customers during the quarter.
Starwood profit soars on 5% revenue growth
(6:18 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts /quotes/comstock/13*!hot/quotes/nls/hot (HOT (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/HOT) 53.27, +0.51, +0.97%) said first-quarter profit climbed to $30 million, or 16 cents a share, from $6 million, or 3 cents a share, as revenue rose 5% to $1.19 billion. Excluding items, it would have earned 13 cents a share, down from 15 cents a share in the prior-year period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected quarterly earnings of 2 cents a share. Worldwide system-wide revenue per available room rose 6.3%. For the year, Starwood sees earnings per share before items of 88 cents on RevPar at current dollars up 6% to 9%.

Hugo Boss gives confident outlook as profit drops
(6:12 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German fashion firm Hugo Boss AG /quotes/comstock/11e!fbos3 (DE:BOS3 (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BOS3?countrycode=de) 31.62, +2.62, +9.02%) said Thursday its first-quarter net profit dropped 11% to 56.3 million euros ($74.5 million) from 63.6 million euros in the same period a year ago. Total sales fell 8% to 444.2 million euros from 483.7 million euros, as a result of considerably lower pre-order volumes compared to 2009. Sales from directly operated retail stores rose 25% to 83 million euros in the first quarter. Citing the development in pre-orders for the fall and winter, Hugo Boss said it's "confident that 2010 will be a year of growth again." For 2010, the firm expects sales growth in the single-digit percentage range, whilst adjusted Ebitda is expected to increase somewhat more strongly than sales in 2010. Shares of Hugo Boss rose 7.7% on Xetra.

Becton, Dickinson net rises as sales view trimmed
(6:08 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Becton, Dickinson and Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!bdx/quotes/nls/bdx (BDX (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BDX) 76.83, +0.79, +1.04%) said fiscal second-quarter net profit rose 14% to $297.6 million, or $1.24 a share, as revenue rose 7% to $1.84 billion. The medical device maker said solid medical segment growth and continued bioscience improvement offset weaker-than-expected diagnostics growth. The firm expects annual revenue to rise about 6%, which is 1% less than its previous view due to currency swings. It still sees adjusted earnings between $5.05 and $5.15 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected quarterly earnings of $1.23 and annual earnings of $5.10 a share.

France Telecom's quarterly profit down 5%
(3:29 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- France Telecom S.A. /quotes/comstock/13*!fte/quotes/nls/fte (FTE (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/FTE) 21.76, +0.35, +1.63%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:fte (FR:FTE (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/FTE?countrycode=fr) 16.41, +0.10, +0.58%) said Thursday its first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) fell to 3.76 billion euros ($4.97 billion) from 3.96 billion euros in the same period a year ago. Revenue dropped to 10.96 billion euros from 11.19 billion euros. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected average Ebitda of 3.86 billion euros and revenue of 11 billion euros.
Banco Santander net income rises 5.7%
(3:02 AM ET) MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Spain's Banco Santander /quotes/comstock/13*!std/quotes/nls/std (STD (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/STD) 11.99, -0.05, -0.43%) /quotes/comstock/06x!csan (ES:SAN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SAN?countrycode=es) 9.46, +0.36, +3.99%) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of 2.22 billion euros ($2.93 billion) up 5.7% against 2.1 billion euros in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research were expecting net income of 2.2 billion euros. Net interest income for Santander was 7.1 billion euros, against 6.04 billion euros in the year-ago period, and against expectations of 6.87 billion euros. The March loan-loss coverage ratio was 74% against 75% at the end of December. The ratio for non-performing loans was 3.34% in March against 3.24% at the end of December. Its Tier 1 ratio was 10.3% at the end of March, versus 10.1% at the end of December.
MAN SE's quarterly profit falls sharply
(2:41 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German truckmaker MAN SE /quotes/comstock/11e!fman (DE:MAN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/MAN?countrycode=de) 67.92, +1.01, +1.51%) said Thursday its first-quarter net profit fell to 49 million euros ($65 million) from 181 million euros in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 22% to 3.12 billion euros, and order intake increased 54% to 3.5 billion euros. "The economic conditions improved in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the previous year, with muted but growing signs of a recovery," the firm said in a statement.

Vaccines, acquisitions drive Sanofi-Aventis income
(2:32 AM ET) MADRID (MarketWatch) -- French healthcare group Sanofi-Aventis /quotes/comstock/13*!sny/quotes/nls/sny (SNY (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SNY) 34.17, -0.36, -1.04%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:san (FR:SAN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SAN?countrycode=fr) 51.51, -0.40, -0.77%) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of 1.74 billion euros ($2.3 billion), a 10% rise against $1.58 billion in the same period a year ago. On a per share basis, the company earned 1.31 euros, against 1.21 euros. Revenue for the group totalled 7.39 billion euros, against 7.1 billion euros in the year-ago period, despite generic competition for Eloxatin in the U.S. and Plavix in Europe. "During this first quarter, our growth platforms delivered double-digit growth enhanced by recent targeted acquisitions and A/H1N1 vaccine sales," said chief executive officer Christopher A. Viehbacher. "This good start to the year which benefited from A/H1N1 puts us on track to deliver our 2010 guidance." He said the consumer health care business also got a boost by the acquisition of Chattem.

Clariant swings to profit but misses expectations
(2:29 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Swiss specialty-chemicals firm Clariant AG /quotes/comstock/06p!cln-otc (CH:CLN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/CLN?countrycode=ch) 14.25, -0.11, -0.75%) said Thursday it swung to a first-quarter net profit of 6 million Swiss francs ($5.5 million) compared with a loss of 93 million francs in the year-ago period. Sales rose 13% to 1.8 billion francs from 1.6 billion francs. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected net profit of 20 million francs and revenue of 1.79 billion francs. For the full year, Clariant expects sales in local currencies to increase in the mid single-digit range and an operating margin before exceptional items above the 2008 level of 6.6%. Cash flow from operations will remain strong, the firm said.

BASF's quarterly profit exceeds estimates
(2:16 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German chemical firm BASF SE /quotes/comstock/11e!fbas (DE:BAS (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BAS?countrycode=de) 45.37, -1.00, -2.16%) said Thursday its first-quarter net profit soared to 1.03 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from 375 million euros in the year-ago period. Sales increased by 26% to 15.5 billion euros from 12.2 billion euros. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected net profit of 878 million euros and revenue of 14.59 billion euros. The firm said the outlook for 2010 remained positive. "We expect our sales to grow again in 2010 and outpace global chemical production," BASF said. "We anticipate that the income from operations before special items will improve considerably and that we will again earn a premium on our cost of capital."

ArcelorMittal swings to net income of $679 million
(2:08 AM ET) MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Steelmaker ArcelorMittal /quotes/comstock/24s!e:mt (NL:MT (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/MT?countrycode=nl) 30.50, -0.50, -1.61%) on Thursday reported a profit of $679 million for the first quarter, or 45 cents a share, against a loss of $1.06 billion in the year ago period, or a loss of 78 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research were forecasting net income of $288.5 million. The company reported sales of $18.7 billion against $15.1 billion in the year ago period. The company had steel output of 23.1 million tons in the quarter, against 15.2 million tons, and shipped 21.5 million tons, against 16 million tons. For the three months ended June 30, the company expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization between $2.8 billion and $3.2 billion. "The economic recovery is continuing in-line with our expectations and 2010 is set to be a stronger year for ArcelorMittal," said Lakshmi N. Mittal, chairman and chief executive officer. "The year has started with improved demand in all main markets, which will have a positive impact in the second quarter."

Bayer raises outlook as its net profit surges 63%
(2:06 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Bayer AG /quotes/comstock/11e!fbayn (DE:BAYN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BAYN?countrycode=de) 49.84, -0.32, -0.64%) /quotes/comstock/11i!bayry (BAYR.Y (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BAYR.Y) 64.25, -0.18, -0.28%) said Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose 63% to 693 million euros ($914 million) from 425 million euros in the year-ago period. Sales rose 5.3% to 8.32 billion euros. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected net profit of 710 million euros and revenue of 8.25 billion euros. The German firm also raised its earnings outlook for 2010, citing favorable currency fluctuations. Bayer plans to increase Ebitda before special items to more than 7 billion euros compared with its previous forecast of only 7 billion euros. Core earnings per share are expected to improve by more than 15% compared with its previous estimate of 10%. Bayer is also targeting currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales growth of more than 5%.

Siemens lifts annual view as net rises 48%
(1:33 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Siemens /quotes/comstock/13*!si/quotes/nls/si (SI (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SI) 95.22, -0.44, -0.46%) /quotes/comstock/11e!fsie (DE:SIE (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/SIE?countrycode=de) 72.65, +0.42, +0.58%) , the German industrial conglomerate, said fiscal second-quarter net income rose 48% to 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) on better mix in fossil power and health care and reduced U.S. pension costs. Revenue fell 4% to 18.23 billion euros and new orders slumped 14%, which Siemens blamed on a lack of large orders in the energy and industry divisions. After a rise of 16% in the second quarter to 2.14 billion euros, Siemens now sees its total sector profit beating last year's level of around 7.5 billion euros. Siemens previously forecast that measure between 6 billion and 6.5 billion euros.

Updates, advisories and surprises






Continental Airlines April traffic falls 2.6%
(2:57 AM ET) LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Continental Airlines Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!cal/quotes/nls/cal (CAL (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/CAL) 22.86, +0.51, +2.28%) said Monday that traffic in April fell 2.6% and capacity decreased 3.2% compared with the same month a year ago. Load factor, or the percentage of the plane filled with passengers, was up 0.6 percentage point to 82.9%, the Houston-based carrier said.

NYSE Euronext net up on derivatives, Nyfix impact
(2:54 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- NYSE Euronext, /quotes/comstock/13*!nyx/quotes/nls/nyx (NYX (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/NYX) 33.00, +0.37, +1.13%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:nyx (FR:NYX (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/NYX?countrycode=fr) 24.66, +0.06, +0.24%) the New York securities-exchange operator, reported that first-quarter net income rose 25% on 5.4% lower revenue, driven by strength in its derivatives businesses and by the first full-quarter impact of the acquisition of Nyfix. Earnings reached $130 million, or 50 cents a share, from $104 million, or 40 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings were 54 cents against 43 cents. Revenue slipped to $1.08 billion from $1.14 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced consensus estimates of 53 cents of profit on $1.06 billion of revenue.

Linde confirms outlook as sales, profit rise
(2:38 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German gases and engineering firm Linde AG /quotes/comstock/11e!flin (DE:LIN (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/LIN?countrycode=de) 90.49, -1.51, -1.64%) said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose to 198 million euros ($262 million) from 115 million euros in the year-ago period. In the three months ended March 31, sales grew 7.4% to 2.89 billion euros. "It looks as if the worst is behind us. Towards the end of the first quarter in particular, we noticed a marked revival in demand," said Chief Executive Wolfgang Reitzle. Linde also confirmed its outlook, saying it expects growth in sales and earnings in 2010.

Adidas raises full-year outlook as profit jumps
(2:24 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German sportswear producer Adidas AG /quotes/comstock/11e!fads (DE:ADS (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ADS?countrycode=de) 45.51, +0.31, +0.69%) said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit rose to 168 million euros ($222 million) from 5 million euros in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 4% to 2.67 billion euros from 2.58 billion euros. The firm also raised its outlook for 2010. It now expects group sales to increase at a mid-single-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis in 2010 compared to its previous forecast of low- to mid-single-digit growth. "Positive impacts from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the group's high exposure to fast-growing emerging markets as well as improvements at the Reebok brand are forecasted to support group sales growth," Adidas said.

Hannover Re net off 31%; affirms '10 profit target
(2:10 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- German reinsurer Hannover Re /quotes/comstock/11i!hvrry (HVRR.Y (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/HVRR.Y) 21.85, -0.12, -0.55%) /quotes/comstock/11e!fhnr1 (DE:HNR1 (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/HNR1?countrycode=de) 36.17, +0.27, +0.74%) reported Tuesday that first-quarter net income fell 31% and affirmed that it would meet its profit target for the year, a return on equity of at least 15% after-tax. Net income was 157.2 million euros ($207.7 million), or 1.3 euros a share, compared with 228.6 million, or 1.9 euros, in the year-earlier quarter. The year-ago number included a special gain totaling 86.4 million euros in connection with the acquisition of ING's life-reinsurance portfolio. Excluding the gain, earnings before interest and taxes rose 11%. Gross written premiums rose 7.1% to 2.9 billion euros. Net investment income advanced 41% to 279.5 million euros. "The incidence of major losses in the first quarter was considerably higher" than it was a year earlier, Hannover Re said in a Tuesday statement. The earthquake in Chile cost the company 185.1 million euros, while the temblor in Haiti cost 25.5 million euros.

Teva 1st-quarter net up 58% on 16% higher sales
(1:28 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. /quotes/comstock/15*!teva/quotes/nls/teva (TEVA (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/TEVA) 60.03, +1.30, +2.21%) , the Jerusalem drugmaker, reported first-quarter net income rose 58% on 16% higher sales. Net reached $713 million, or 79 cents a share, from $451 million, or 51 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings in the latest quarter were 91 cents against 71 cents. Sales totaled $3.65 billion compared with $3.15 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced consensus estimates of 90 cents of profit on $3.73 billion of sales. In a statement on Tuesday, Teva said that the weaker dollar added $98 million to sales. Sales of Copaxone, the company's flagship multiple-sclerosis medication, rose 28% to $796 million. Sales of Azilect for Parkinson's disease rose 40% to $77 million. Respiratory-product sales rose 4% to $193 million. And in women's health, sales fell 19% to $79 million from $97 million, largely because of "weak sales" of Plan B One-Step, partly offset by "strong" sales of Seasonique and ParaGard.