AMERICAN MARKETS OUTLOOK: U.S. stock markets are poised for a mixed open Monday, market-watchers say.

Finspreads in London is calling the Dow Jones Industrial Average to open five points lower at 10954, the S&P 500 down 0.8 point at 1284.6 and the Nasdaq up 0.5 at 1735.5.

Angus Campbell at Finspreads says the DJIA is standing at last November's resistance levels. This follows a strong close Friday, he says, after the nonfarm payroll figure came "as a great relief to the market, as it suggested that the U.S. economy is still on a good footing." The resistance around 11,000 has come at a time of year when the market tends to struggle to push higher, Campbell adds.

EUROPEAN MARKETS: European stock markets are higher midday in Europe.

U.K. shares edged upward on gains in the oil and resources sector, though property companies weighed after Merrill Lynch downgraded two of the sector's major players. The FTSE 100 is up 0.2% at 5750. In Frankfurt, the DAX is up 0.3% at 5550.59. DaimlerChrysler, up 2.9%, is leading the gains. The CAC is up 0.3% at 4882.02.

Bunds are a fraction higher as the markets finally shrug off hawkish weekend comments from European Central Bank governing council member Nout Wellink. The focus is now on the Bank for International Settlements' meeting in Switzerland, at which ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet is expected to make comments.

As for gilts, while a solid 1% rise in Halifax house prices will keep the short end in check, the middle section of the gilt curve is looking to bunds for direction and perhaps pricing in a concession ahead of Tuesday's 2020 auction, says Monument Securities. The U.K. Debt Management Office will sell GBP2.50 billion of 4.75% 2020 paper. The March bund future is up 0.02 at 122.36 but the March gilt is down 0.08 at 114.60.

Profit-taking after Friday's sharp decline is giving the dollar a boost in Europe. However, the U.S. currency remains under pressure against the yen, especially after Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki suggested earlier Monday that although recent dollar/yen movements are "wild" the trend is in line with fundamentals.

The dollar is down at Y114.18, the euro has slipped back to $1.2087, and the pound is also lower, at $1.7672.

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TOP STORIES:

TURKEY REPORTS 5 MORE H5N1 BIRD FLU CASES: Preliminary tests showed five more people have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus in Turkey, a health ministry official said, indicating the disease was spreading. (AP)

ADECCO GETS NEW CEO THROUGH GERMAN BUY: Adecco S.A. (ADO) announced an acquisition worth EUR680 million in Germany, which will also give the Swiss company a new chief executive and a new chief financial officer. (News Snap by Martin Gelnar)

TDC HOLDER DECLINES BUYOUT OFFER: The planned $12 billion buyout of Danish telecommunication operator TDC A/S (TLD) faced a potential setback after the company's largest shareholder said it won't accept the takeover offer. (News Snap by Frances Schwartzkopff)

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INSIGHT & ANALYSIS FROM DOW JONES NEWSWIRES:

=FOREX FOCUS: Recent signs of a pick-up in U. K. consumer activity probably won't stop the Bank of England from cutting interest rates again next month. And they probably won't be enough to halt the recent decline in sterling, either. (By Nicholas Hastings)

=FOCUS: Despite growing international dismay over Iran's nuclear ambitions, this week's sweeping changes in its senior oil ranks suggest officials want to keep talking to foreign investors to attract much-needed cash into the country's energy sector. (By Sally Jones)

=THE SKEPTIC: Will 2006 mark the beginning of the end for the struggling U.S. auto industry, or it will it be the year the indigenous industry wakes up to reality and began to turn itself round? (By Howard Wheeldon)

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STILL TO COME

ET/GMT COUNTRY/PERIOD
1300/1800 JPN Japanese Fin Min Tanigaki speaks at
the Japan Society in New York
1500/2000 US Nov Consumer Credit
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OTHER NEWS:

U.K. house prices rose again in December, although the final reading of house price inflation for 2005 was at the lowest level for 10 years, lender Halifax said. (Data Snap by Ilona Billington)

Germany's trade surplus grew to EUR13.3 billion in November, thanks to a record performance in exports. (Data Snap by Emily Barrett)

U.K. wireless operator Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) said it has teamed up with Sony Corp. (SNE) to offer a mobile radio subscription, the latest attempt to draw in extra sales by offering music services. (News Snap by Jessica Hodgson)

German retailer KarstadtQuelle AG (KAR.XE) said the company sees preliminary 2005 sales around EUR15.7 billion, while its fourth-quarter sales were about EUR4.9 billion. (By George Frey)

Shares in Synthes Inc. (SYST.VX) jumped after the Swiss medical device company said it received an approvable letter from the FDA for its spine disc ProDisc-L. (News Snap by Stefanie Weitz)

Swedish medical devices company Gambro AB (GAMB-B.SK) said U.S. health authorities have temporarily banned the import of three of its kidney-treatment monitors because of safety concerns. (News Snap by Frances Schwartzkopff)

-By Vanya Dragomanovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9487; [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires