European markets were mostly higher Monday on the news that a special operations unit of the US military had killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and after a new report showed that factory activity was up in April in the Eurozone. The Dax was up 0.24 percent to 7,532.81 in Frankfurt, with gains led by [...]

European equities markets were higher Friday, helped by data on consumer spending from the United States and by corporate results from both sides of the Atlantic, but trade volumes were low as London markets were closed for celebrations of the royal wedding there. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.24 percent to 1,156.42 while the [...]

European markets declined Monday after Standard & Poor’s reduced its long-term outlook for US credit from “stable” to “negataive” although it reiterated its current AAA credit rating, while markets were also hurt by a statement from the International Monetary Fund that called Greece’s debt unsustainable. The FTSE 100 dropped 2.1 percent to 5,870.08, with just [...]

Most European equities markets saw gains Friday on a US Commerce Department report revising last year’s fourth quarter growth up, with the new data showing that the US economy grew by 3.1 percent in the quarter rather than its earlier estimate of 2.8 percent growth. The FTSE 100 added 0.34 percent to 5,900.76 in London, [...]

Asia-Pacific equities markets headed lower on Monday as investors worried that not only the US economy but also the Japanese economy are headed for recession. In India, the Sensex ended the session 1.14 percent lower at 18,152.78. Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 3.28 percent to 7,845.79 while the FTSE Straits Times Index was down 3.75 percent [...]

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region saw declines on Monday after Swiss bank UBS (SWX: USBN; NYSE: UBS; TYO: 8657) took $10 billion in writedowns, renewing concerns that losses from the US subprime mortgage crisis have not yet seen their peak. The major exception among losses in the region’s markets was the Shanghai Composite, [...]

Wall Street was lower in mid-afternoon trade on Tuesday ahead of next week‘s decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial average was 0.13 percent lower to 13,297.66 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.26 percent to 2,630.22 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.33 percent to 1,467.62. Declines were limited [...]

Most Asia-Pacific equities markets were lower on Monday after bank regulators in China instructed banks there to hold back on lending until year’s end. The only major exception was in Australia, where the S&P/ASX200 added 1.13 percent to 6,535.2 and the Sydney Ordinaries gained 1.15 percent to 6,601.3 on speculation that the worst of the [...]

Wall Street was up in early afternoon trade after declines earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.17 percent to 13,545.43, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81 percent to 2,747.17. And the S&P 500 was 0.23 percent higher to 1,504.04. In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) added $1.21 to $54.32 after [...]

Asian and Pacific region equities were lower Friday. The Shanghai Composite was 0.12 percent lower to 5,818.05, while in Taiwan the Taiex was down 0.26 percent to 9,611.72. Australian markets declined on losses in the banking and mining sectors. The Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.85 percent to 6,723.3 and the S&P/ASX200 dropped 0.91 percent to 6,706.3. [...]