Casino? Indians all game for it

Gambling, the most popular royal sport of pre-independent India, is fast emerging as an expensive fad among Indian leisure and business travellers.

Comerica's stock lost 10.1 percent to $20.51.In regulatory news, the U.S. Treasury Department sent to Congress a draft bill that would curb the power of credit ratings agencies.Moody's Corp (MCO.N) shares dropped 6.3 percent to $26.80, and shares of McGraw-Hill Cos (MHP.N), which owns Standard & Poor's, fell 1.5 percent to $32.55.Volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.21 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. Both posted second-quarter losses as a deteriorating commercial property market caused bad loans to soar Regions' stock slid 15.4 percent to $3.42. Its stock sank 21.6 percent to end at 98 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.Also on the defensive were shares of Regions Financial Corp (RF.N) and Comerica Inc (CMA.N), two large U.S regional banking companies. After the bell, Apple posted a quarterly profit that topped forecasts, driving its stock up more than 3 percent to $156.72.CIT SINKS BELOW $1Troubled lender CIT Group Inc (CIT.N) warned on Tuesday it could still file for bankruptcy if debt swap failed, one day after securing $3 billion in emergency financing from its bondholders. The stock, up 6.1 percent at $29.65, ranked as the Dow's second-biggest advancer. The pharmaceuticals index .DRG was up 1.6 percent.But shares of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) , a diversified manufacturer, fell 1.8 percent to $53.97 after it posted a 23 percent drop in profit and lowered its 2009 outlook.On Nasdaq, shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) were the top drag, falling 0.9 percent to $151.60 ahead of its quarterly results.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 3.45 points, or 0.36 percent, to 954.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 6.91 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,916.20 -- a closing high for the year.FROM MARCH LOW, S&P JUMPS 41 PCTThe S&P 500 is now up 41 percent from the 12-year closing low of March 9.Shares of Caterpillar, up 7.8 percent at $39.46, provided the Dow's top boost, but finished below the day's high after the company said it expected the third quarter to be the year's weakest and "extremely challenging.Merck said second-quarter earnings fell, hurt by lower sales of its cholesterol drugs, but income from partnerships and a rebound in sales of asthma drug Singulair helped the drugmaker beat profit forecasts. but you're going to have to see how this pans out over the long term," said Stephen Carl, principal and head of U.S. equity trading at The Williams Capital Group in New York."I think you do a little profit-taking now, go through the summer and see how the rest of second-quarter earnings come out, and then kind of ascertain what's going on after that."The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 67.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to 8,915.94. economic growth and corporate profits."People can get a bit euphoric with a couple of positive economic numbers and earnings ... Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony before a congressional panel that mounting joblessness, slumping home values and tight credit were likely to curb consumer spending -- a major driver of U.S. (Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Additional reporting byTiffany Wu; Editing by Richard Chang) Stocks Media France.