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Base metals futures trimmed their morning losses on Thursday as the dollar fell further against the euro during the day and Initial claims and Jobless claims data showed some stabilization in the manufacturing sector.

Nickel gained almost 1.5 percent while Aluminium rose by 1.23 percent on LME. However, Nickel and Aluminium rose by 1.48 percent and 0.58 percent respectively on MCX.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index rose sharply to minus 2.2 in June from minus 22.6 in May. That was the highest reading since September 2008.

Brussels - The European Union launched a final push on Friday to make legally binding a set of guarantees designed to convince Irish voters to back the stalled Lisbon Treaty, amidst argument over the best way to do so.

An EU summit in Brussels will give a "legal guarantee that certain matters of concern to the Irish people will be unaffected by the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon," according to a draft summit declaration drawn up overnight by EU diplomats.

Precious metals ended lower on Thursday as the dollar turned higher in a volatile session, and further unwinding of fund interest because of lower inflation expectations led to further weakness in this complex.

Gold futures declined by nearly $1.4 or 0.15 percent and settled at $934.6 an ounce on COMEX while Silver futures lost over half a percent on COMEX. However, Gold and Silver lost 0.17 percent and 0.08 percent respectively on MCX.

Washington, June 19 : Computers are helping to create one of the most literate and engaged generations the world has seen, an expert has claimed.

Carl Whithaus, associate professor of writing at UC Davis, has revealed that computers along with traditional print-based literacy methods have proved to be a boon to academic achievement.

The study involving fourth-grade classrooms at elementary schools in the Elk Grove School District in Elk Grove showed that student achievement increased 27.5 percent.

Washington, June 19 : Film and TV star Ryan Reynolds is still buzzing over a beehive full of the singing insects that he got as a wedding gift from Samuel L. Jackson last year.

The actor had asked celebrity guests to forgo showering them with wedding gifts when he married Hollywood siren Scarlett Johansson in a remote location just outside of his native Vancouver, Canada, in September last year.

He has revealed that he was shocked to find a box of bees left in his backyard.

Washington, June 19 : Most people believe that bottled water is healthier than tap water, a new research has found.

However, such individuals are unaware of the exact benefits of consuming packed water but think they don't make much of a difference.

Lorna Ward led a team of researchers from the University of Birmingham who carried out interviews with users of the University''''s sports centre.

They found that convenience and taste -- not health -- were the main motivating factors for choosing bottled water.