Wall Street edges up as data outweighs sequester

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose modestly on Friday as strong economic data outweighed growth concerns in China and Europe and let investors brush off worries about the impact of expected across-the-board government spending cuts. Stocks opened sharply lower as Asian factories slowed and European output fell, but most of the losses dissipated after a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity...

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Wall Street rebounds as Bernanke defends policy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Tuesday, rebounding from their worst decline since November after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus before Congress. Bernanke, in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, strongly defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus program and quieted rumblings that the central bank may pull back from its stimulative...

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Wall Street drops on Italian election uncertainty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday, reversing course from earlier gains as elections in Italy stoked concerns a divided parliament could disrupt the country's fiscal reforms and the euro zone's stability. Early forecasts of the results were conflicting, as opinion polls indicated the center-left of Pier Luigi Bersani winning the lower house, but projections from RAI state television...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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HP lifts Wall Street, S&P on pace for first weekly loss of year

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday, rebounding off two days of losses as Dow component Hewlett-Packard surged on strong results, but the S&P 500 was on track to end a seven-week-long streak of gains. The S&P shed 1.9 percent over the previous two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly decline of the year. The...

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Wall Street drops again, data raises growth concerns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday and were on track for their biggest two-day decline since November as weak data suggested expectations for economic growth were overly optimistic. The two-day decline marked the U.S. stock market's first sustained pullback this year. The Standard & Poor's 500 is up 5.2 percent so far this year. The benchmark index has climbed for seven...

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Wall Street drops as energy sector drags

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't...

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M&A deals lift shares, suggest value in market

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as this year's ongoing surge of merger activity suggested investors were still finding value in the market even as indexes hover near five-year highs. Office Depot Inc surged 12.4 percent to $5.15 after a person familiar with the matter said the No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer was in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax...

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Yen resumes fall after G20, U.S. holiday thins trade

LONDON (Reuters) - The yen resumed falling on Monday after Japan signaled it would push ahead with expansionist monetary policies having escaped criticism from the world's 20 biggest economies at the weekend. Industrial metals also dipped and European shares were soft on lingering worries about the economic outlook, especially for the euro zone. While the risk of an inconclusive outcome...

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G20 steps back from currency brink, heat off Japan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations declared on Saturday there would be no currency war and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets, underlining broad concern about the fragile state of the world economy. Japan's expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped direct criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by policymakers from the G20, which spans developed...

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G20 steps back from currency brink, heat off Japan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations declared on Saturday there would be no currency war and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets, underlining broad concern about the fragile state of the world economy. Japan's expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped direct criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by policymakers from the G20, which spans developed...

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Wall Street flat but on track for seventh straight weekly gain

Finola Hughes has called the upcoming 50th anniversary of "General Hospital" a "really sweet" moment."I think the fact that we, at 'GH,' are doing so well right now, and to enter into our 50th anniversary on such a high, it feels really sweet," the actress, who plays Port Charles Police Chief Anna Devane, told Access Hollywood, when asked about the daytime drama's impending anniversa...

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Wall Street flat near multi-year highs, M&A helps

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing prices higher with major averages near multi-year highs, though a flurry of merger deals kept indexes steady. Wall Street has rallied lately, with the S&P 500 briefly hitting its highest intraday level since November 2007 in Wednesday's session. Still, there are few obvious catalysts...

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Wall Street rally stalls, S&P 500 skims November 2007 high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday amid investor caution after the S&P 500 index briefly hit its highest intraday level since November 2007. The benchmark index got a boost from Comcast Corp , which said it will buy the rest of NBC Universal for $16.7 billion from General Electric Co . Equities have been strong performers until recently, buoyed...

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Wall Street edges up, Dow nears all-time high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Tuesday, putting the Dow within striking distance of all-time highs as investors looked ahead to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, which is expected to focus on the economy. Jobs and economic growth are seen as major themes of Obama's speech, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday). Investors will also listen for...

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Wall Street ticks lower, investors seek new catalysts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell modestly on Monday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a six-weeks-long advance that has taken the S&P 500 index near record highs. The benchmark index is up more than 6 percent so far this year after a steep rally in January that has stalled as the S&P and Dow industrials near multi-year highs. "This...

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G20 to skirt potholes and follow growth signposts

LONDON (Reuters) - With the road ahead looking a bit smoother, G20 finance ministers will be happy to ignore the wreck in the rear-view mirror when they meet this week to steer a course for the world economy. The euro zone as a whole and a clutch of its members, including France, Italy and the Netherlands, are expected to report that their economies shrank last quarter - joining Germany...

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Stocks end higher for sixth straight week, tech leads

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high, boosted by gains in technology shares and stronger overseas trade figures. The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August. The technology sector led the day's gains, with the S&P 500 technology index...

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Wall Street extends gains, Nasdaq near 12-year high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended gains on Friday, with the Nasdaq rising 1 percent, putting it within close reach of a 12-year high. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 47.66 points, or 0.34 percent, to 13,991.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 7.47 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,516.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 30.23 points,...

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Wall Street dips on renewed euro zone fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as comments by the ECB president on the euro raised worries about Europe's outlook and curbed investors' appetite for risky assets. The euro currency dropped against the safe-haven dollar and yen after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the exchange rate was important to growth and price stability, which investors took as a sign...

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