U.S.

Stocks rallied late in the session on Thursday for the second day as enthusiasm about strong profits offset lingering credit concerns, although a modest flight-to-quality bid gave bond prices a slight lift.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid in a highly erratic session on Wednesday, as concerns about worsening credit conditions persisted and a sharp downturn in the price of oil sent energy companies' shares lower.

Stocks were little changed on Monday after gyrating between negative and positive territory in the first half hour as worsening sentiment about the global credit environment countered optimism about economic growth. Tightening lending standards threaten to slow or halt the heavy pace of corporate buy-outs that have fueled a rally in equities.

Getting back on the bull will be no easy task next week, particularly after the meltdown stock investors endured over the past two days.

U.S. stocks plunged for a second day on Friday, in the worst week for the S&P 500 in nearly five years, as tightening credit conditions led to concerns that takeovers would slow. Losses accelerated in the final minutes of trading, taking the Dow industrials down more than 200 points, a day after an equities sell-off that wiped out more than $300 billion in the value off the S&P 500.

Stocks plummeted on Thursday, with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 300 points, on signs of further weakness in the housing market and deteriorating conditions for corporate buyouts. The S&P shed about $300 billion in market value in the worst single session since the February 27 global market sell-off.

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with the three major indexes posting their worst single day performance since March 13, as disappointing results from DuPont Co. and Countrywide Financial Corp. heightened concerns about the housing market.

The United States and India said on Friday they made substantial progress in negotiations on a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement, and one U.S. official told Reuters the long-delayed deal was effectively done.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours.

U.S. stocks rose Monday on strong Merck & Co. profits and news of a nearly $18 billion oil services takeover, while Treasury bonds eased as reduced fears about the subprime credit market made riskier assets attractive again.

Home sales and a report on economic growth may help investors decide if they want to keep riding a bull market in stocks, while a torrent of quarterly earnings reports will no doubt cause some anxious moments. A sharp drop in shares of equipment-maker Caterpillar Inc. on Friday showed just how badly a stock can be hurt when there is an earnings shortfall.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, battered by disappointing results from such bellwethers as Caterpillar and Google, and more signals that fallout from the risky subprime mortgage market may spread.

China said on Friday that it strongly opposed decisions by the United States to initiate anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of some woven sacks and steel pipes from China.

The United States and India remain divided over a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement despite three days of talks to finally close the deal, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

Stocks rose sharply on Thursday as multinational companies such as IBM and Juniper Networks Inc. reported earnings that beat forecasts, shifting investors' focus back to corporate profits and away from subprime credit worries.

The number of new claims filed for U.S. jobless benefits fell unexpectedly in the latest week, dropping 8,000 to the lowest level in two months, the government said on Thursday.

The Dow closed at a record on Tuesday, though retreating from the 14,000 mark it earlier crossed for the first time, while the Nasdaq rose to a six-and-a-half-year high on a cascade of stronger-than-expected earnings.

The broader U.S. stock market fell on Monday on worries that troubles in the subprime mortgage market may spread, but optimism about earnings at multinational companies pushed the Dow to nearly 14,000. Energy stocks fell, led by ConocoPhillips, because of concern about dwindling profit margins for gasoline.

Nora Bannerman checks the pristine white uniforms made for American pharmacist Walgreens in her factory in the humid heart of the Ghanaian capital Accra.

Blue-chip stocks rose on Friday, sending the Dow to a record, as General Electric Co's expanded share repurchase plan and a stronger-than-expected reading of consumer sentiment tempered worries about the economy's health.

U.S. retail sales posted their biggest monthly decline in nearly two years during June, according to government data issued on Friday, indicating the housing market slump and soaring gasoline prices are depressing consumer spending.