Afternoon Market Update

Crude-oil futures fluctuated today, as the US stocks showed a slight rise recently. Crude for October delivery rose about or 0.2% to $74.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Oil initiated the day on a negative note, but covered its losses after some time. 3Par Inc is likely to reach a deal with Hewlett-Packard Co HPQ, that has raised its bid for 3Par Inc PAR to $33 per share. Dell Inc DELL has announced that it will not revise its recent offer of $32 per sharefor 3Par, after an increase in the offer from HPQ. The increased bid by HPQ has valued PAR at about $2.4 billion. Dave Johnson, Dell's senior vice president for corporate strategy said, "We took a measured approach throughout the process and have decided to end these discussions." The Treasury Department has planned to sell notes and bonds worth $67 billion, along with $21 billion in benchmark 10-year Treasurys in the subsequent week. The US government also announced an auction of 3-year notes worth $33 billion and 30-year bonds worth $13 billion. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.