ECONOMY & MARKETS

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Weyerhaeuser, Nabors Industries, Pier 1 Imports, Qualcomm, Helmerich & Payne, Freeport-McMoRan Copper, Netflix, Bally Technologies and Costco Wholesale Corp.

U.S. stocks posted modest losses Thursday after another major earthquake rattled Japan's northeastern coast, but retailers climbed following surprisingly strong March sales.

XenoPort (NASDAQ: XNPT) and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (LON: GSK) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Horizant, a treatment for restless legs syndrome (RLS) that the companies developed together.

Jefferies & Co. upgraded its rating on shares of Parametric Technology (NASDAQ: PMTC) to buy from hold and increased its price target to $28 from $25.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday after a major aftershock in Japan triggered new fears about a nuclear crisis, but better-than-expected jobless claims data and monthly retail sales data held losses in check.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) touched a new life-time high of $55.17 on Thursday. The company reported a 25 percent growth in fourth quarter earnings, which came in ahead of its expectations as well as Street view.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday after a major aftershock in Japan triggered new fears about a nuclear crisis, but better-than-expected jobless claims data and monthly retail sales data held losses in check.

Online travel agent Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) proposes to split into two publicly traded companies: TripAdvisor and Expedia.

Shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) touched a new life-time high of $18.73 on Thursday. The company issued preliminary metrics for the first quarter. The positive results were reflected in the trading of Questcor stock that reached a new life-time high for third time during this week.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Expedia, Seagate Technology, Cutera, ShoreTel, and Select Comfort. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Hercules Offshore, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Sangamo Biosciences, PostRock Energy, and China-Biotics.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday after reports of another earthquake hitting Japan in less than a month, but markets were off their lows after a tsunami warning was lifted.

DBS Research Group just released an event chart that explains the movement of EUR/USD. The chart, seen right, goes back to April 2010.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday after reports of another earthquake hitting Japan in less than a month, but markets were off their lows after a tsunami warning was lifted.

Physical Gold Investment prices held near yesterday's new all-time Dollar highs in London trade on Thursday, rising toward 3-week highs in Euro terms even as the European Central Bank made good on its promise to raise Eurozone base rates.

Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday, after reports of another earthquake hitting Japan.

Shares of Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) touched a new 52-week high and a 9-year high of $12.03 on Thursday. Roche Holding AG said an experimental drug T-DM1 was effective in a mid-stage study of breast cancer patients whose disease has spread.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Thursday after official data showed that applications for jobless benefits fell last week.

Today, after the ECB followed through and raised interest rates, Trichet explained the decision.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Xenoport, ZAGG, Bed Bath & Beyond, Immucor, Immunogen, and China Gerui Advanced Materials Group. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Qiao Xing Universal Resources, Travelzoo, Power-One, Advanced Energy Industries, and ASML Holding.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Thursday are: Limited Brands, Constellation Brands, Salesforce.com, Costco Wholesale, Netflix, Rowan Companies, Williams Companies and United States Steel.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised interest rates to 1.25 percent from 1.00 percent.

Credit Suisse expects strong stock and fundamental performance from NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) in the second half of the year.

U.S. stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains from technology and banking sector stocks.

Credit Suisse expects Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) will sign network sharing deals both LightSquared and Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) between now and mid-year.

German industrial production rose more-than-expected in February, mainly led by a strong increase in building industry output.

Deutsche Bank has cut its profit estimates of online retailer Amazon , citing impact from Japan earthquake and tsunami.

U.S. stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains from technology and banking sector stocks. Cisco Systems led gains in technology stocks after CEO John Chambers said in a memo to employees that the company has lost its way and will need to restore its credibility. Chambers suggested Cisco might change operations to narrow the company's focus.

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) touched a new 52-week low of $9.31 on Wednesday. The company said its load factor for the month of March declined 4.5 percentage points to 79.7 percent from 84.2 percent last year.

U.S. stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains from technology and banking sector stocks.