Stock Markets News

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, as the dollar fell and investors awaited data that could offer insight into how firmly a recovery is taking hold.

LONDON (AFP) - The FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday as investors shrugged off data showing the economy is stuck in a record recession.

LONDON (AFP) - European equities rose on Wednesday following gains in Asia and as investors in London shrugged off data showing Britain stuck in a record recession.

LONDON - World stock markets rose Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates will remain at super-low levels for a while yet. Meanwhile, the dollar slid to a ten-month low against the yen after the central bank said the currency's decline had been "orderly."

BEIJING (Reuters) - The price of garlic in China has nearly quadrupled since March, propelled by its very pungency to rank ahead of gold and stocks as the country's best-performing asset this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks rose while gold hit another record high and the dollar weakened on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes expressed confidence in the durability of the U.S. economic recovery.

Year to date, Chinese stocks on U.S. exchanges have led the uptrend.

Shifting assets from money market funds yielding near zero, investors stuffed a near-record $45.02 billion into bond funds in October. Also, skittish about a sell-off in stocks, they pulled $7.08 billion from stock funds.

A brighter economic forecast from the Federal Reserve helped the stock market pare steep losses that followed uninspiring reports on consumer sentiment and housing.

NEW YORK - The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange:

BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal securities regulators won an insider trading case when a jury in Boston ruled that a former Fidelity employee illegally profited from trading stocks that the mutual fund giant was buying for itself.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:

LONDON (AFP) - Leading shares closed lower on Tuesday as the market digested worse-than-expected US economic growth figures.

(Reuters) - Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam denies SEC insider trading charges, according to a court filing by his lawyers on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co tripled the size of its share repurchase program to $12 billion as China sales and better profit margins on its services boosted quarterly earnings.

LONDON (AFP) - The leading shares posted big gains on Monday, led by miners who were boosted by better-than-expected US housing data and a weak US dollar.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index shot higher at the open on Monday as stronger prices for Canadian exports like oil and gold supported the resource-heavy index.

LONDON (AFP) - Global stock markets rose sharply on Monday as the dollar weakened, mirroring surging commodities, while signs of a possible international battle for British confectioner Cadbury focused traders' minds.

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan plans to restrict Chinese stock investment in strategic sectors, as it seeks to keep control of its economy amid rapidly growing ties with the mainland, local media said Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks could sputter this week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.

NEW YORK - Investors are heading toward the final month of the year with more questions about the economy than they had just a few weeks ago.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Key housing sector data may provide direction for Wall Street in the coming week as the market looks for confirmation of economic recovery and girds for the year-end holiday period.

SALT LAKE CITY - Overstock.com Inc. said Friday that it received a listing rule violation letter Thursday from the Nasdaq Stock Market related to the recent filing of its third-quarter report.

WASHINGTON - A new development related to the government's investigation of possible insider trading at a major hedge fund has raised questions in the case and caught the attention of two key senators.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NYSE Euronext , LCH.Clearnet, BATS Global Markets and other firms partnered with banks have urged two U.S. legislators to drop a proposed "rigid" cap on dealer ownership of clearinghouses, according to a letter sent this week.

LONDON (AFP) - London's FTSE 100 index closed lower on Friday, ending a week which started with the index of leading shares striking a 2009 high.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cloud Peak Energy Inc , a unit of Rio Tinto Plc, fell in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday after its shares priced below expectations in the U.S. coal miner's initial public offering.

LONDON (AFP) - Stocks in London recovered slightly at the start of trading on Friday following sharp losses one day earlier.

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission must tighten its process for deciding which investment advisers to inspect if it is to avoid colossal breakdowns like the one that allowed Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud to go undetected for 16 years, the agency's inspector general says.