Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo fell in Friday morning trading shortly before a central bank decision on interest rates after drops overnight on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 94.95 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 8,572.28.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also declined 3.16 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 835.53.

The Bank of Japan was ending a two-day meeting Friday, after which it was expected to lower interest rates as the world's second-largest economy finds itself in recession.

New York  - US stocks plunged on Thursday as oil prices dropped to new lows and the White House continued to stall on a possible bail-out for the US car industry.

General Motors Corp dropped 16 per cent and Ford Motor Co fell 10 per cent after spokeswoman Dana Perino said the White House was considering a structured bankruptcy for the struggling industry.

The Sensex continued to trade in the positive terrain as better than expected annual rate of inflation boosted the market reaction. Intense buying was witnessed across index heavyweights.

Realty, banking, power and IT stocks have rallied sharply. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index gained 1.30% and 0.43% respectively.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex today (Dec 18), started the day negatively at 9,710.20, down 5.09 points, after a fall of 2.62% on the previous working day.

Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo rose Thursday on investor speculation that the central bank would drop interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 54.71 points, or 0.63 per cent, to close at 8,667.23.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also inched up 0.23 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 838.69.

The increases were seen as a two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan got under way Thursday with investors betting on a rate cut after the US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate to a record low this week.

Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo recovered Thursday from early falls related to a strengthening yen because of investor speculation that the central bank would drop interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 74.52 points in morning trading, or 0.86 per cent, at 8,687.04.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 2.64 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 841.1.

Satyam Computer lost nearly 30% during early trading session. In domestic market, the stock touched a 52-week low of Rs 151 on NSE and a 52-week low of Rs 156.85 on BSE. Till 11.50 pm IST, 4.8 crore shares on NSE and 1.8 crore shares on BSE exchanged hands. The stock closed yesterday at Rs 226.55 on NSE. Average trading volume on NSE is 48 lakh during the past two weeks.