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European Union competition regulators launched two anti-trust investigations against International Business Machines Corp, suspecting it of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market.

Signs point to strong results for Microsoft Corp as companies get around to buying computers after a two-year drought, but its stock may find it tough to gain altitude amid worries about where growth will come from in coming years.

IBM on Thursday unveiled a new mainframe computer called zEnterprise, which it said was the most powerful mainframe ever and is more cost-efficient than previous-generation products.

Oil held steady near $77.50 on Wednesday, as rising stock markets and a forming Atlantic storm countered mixed U.S. inventories and disappointing housing data. U.S. crude for September, the front month-contract after Tuesday's expiry of August, shed 10 cents to $77.48 a barrel at 12:06 a.m. ET. ICE Brent fell 14 cents to $76.08.

The Australian Dollar has opened higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said the next rate movement was all but dependent on official inflation data due next week.

Shares in Nokia jumped on Tuesday on news that the world's top cellphone maker has sent out headhunters to find a replacement for Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Stock index futures were lower on Tuesday after technology bellwethers International Business Machines and Texas Instruments posted quarterly revenues that fell shy of expectations.

Stock index futures were lower on Tuesday after technology bellwethers International Business Machines and Texas Instruments posted quarterly revenues that fell shy of expectations.

Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq were down 0.2 to 0.3 percent at 900 GMT (5 a.m. EDT), pointing to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday.

Gold regained strength on Tuesday as jewelry makers resurfaced after the price dropped to its weakest in nearly two months, while investors looked to movements in other markets for further cues. A drop in Japanese shares also spurred buying from speculators, who are keeping an eye on U.S. corporate earnings and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the economy on Wednesday. Silver and palladium firmed, but platinum tracked equities lower.

Texas Instruments said weaker-than-expected orders from one mobile phone customer, identified as Nokia by some analysts, caused second-quarter revenue to miss Wall Street forecasts.

IBM disappointed investors by reporting a decline in new technology services contracts in the second quarter, while a weaker euro hit revenue more than expected, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

IBM's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street's expectations as a weaker euro hurt overseas sales, although firm growth in the company's higher-margin services and software units bolstered profit.

IBM's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street's expectations as a weaker euro hurt overseas sales, although firm growth in the company's higher-margin services and software units bolstered profit.

IBM's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street's expectations as a weaker euro hurt overseas sales, although firm growth in the company's higher-margin services and software units bolstered profit.

IBM's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street's expectations and a decline in services contract signings further damaged investors' confidence, sending its shares down 3 percent.

Stocks rose on Monday, spurred by optimism ahead of earnings from key technology companies and after Dow component Boeing announced strong orders.

IBM's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street's expectations as a weaker euro hurt overseas sales, although firm growth in the company's higher-margin services and software units bolstered profit.

The euro hovered near a two-month high while U.S. stocks moved sideways on Monday as worries about the pace of a U.S. economic recovery kept markets cautious. After Friday's worst one-day drop since late June, the S&P and other U.S. stock indexes opened higher as earnings season kicked into high gear, but weak homebuilding data reminded investors of the delicate state of the economic recovery.

Wall Street was set for a bounce on Monday, following a sharp fall in the previous session, when disappointing revenue from bellwethers reporting results, and downbeat consumer sentiment data, hurt equities.

Wall Street was set for a bounce on Monday, following a sharp fall in the previous session, when disappointing revenue from bellwethers reporting results, and downbeat consumer sentiment data, hurt equities.

IBM is in danger of missing average Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter revenue as the weaker euro dents sales in Europe, which counts for about 30 percent of its revenue.

Infosys Technologies edged up its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.

Fujitsu Ltd, Japan's biggest IT services provider, said on Friday it plans to boost investment in cloud computing by 54 percent this year to beef up its operations in one of the IT sector's hottest areas.

Former IBM Corp executive Robert Moffat, who admitted to charges of insider trading in the Galleon hedge fund probe, told Fortune magazine that his affair with co-defendant Danielle Chiesi was more about business than sex.

Global IT group IBM will defend itself from the state government's attempt to withhold payments following the Queensland Health payroll fiasco.

IBM has filed a lawsuit to prevent former senior executive Joanne Olsen from taking a job with rival Oracle Corp , which wooed her away from IBM after 31 years with the company.

Hewlett-Packard Co said it aims to boost margins by cutting jobs and reallocating spending to more profitable technology services, shrinking its workforce by a net 3,000 jobs, or 1 percent, over three years.