ECONOMY & MARKETS

Stock rallied broadly on some encouraging number from the labor market, shrugging off worrying geopolitical developments in Asia and some dour housing data, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday, which will kick off the Christmas shopping season.

Solar energy stocks received a load of bad news last week when an analyst at Credit Suisse downgraded the entire sector and lowered price targets, raising concerns about the industry's near-term prospects

US core durable goods demand fell unexpectedly in October, recording the largest decline since March 2009.

Personal spending in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent in October, marking a slight uptick in households' appetite for purchases even as a holiday season is kicking in.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices extended earlier gains on Wednesday after the Department of Labor reported that weekly jobless claims fell sharply last week to the lowest level since July 2008.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Magic Software Enterprises, Tesla Motors, Deckers Outdoor, F5 Networks, DryShips, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Amazon.com, Baidu, Oracle, and Netflix.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Telestone Technologies, Acergy SA, Vodafone Group, Randgold Resources, and ARM Holdings.

RBC Capital Markets lowered its profit estimates for PotashCorp after the company decided to fund its share buyback from sale of debt securities rather than utilizing its existing credit facilities.

U.S. home loan demand rose sharply in the week ended Nov. 19, reaching a two-year high, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

Business confidence in Germany surged to record highs in November, despite sovereign debt woes in Ireland and fears of a contagion to other euro zone members.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening on Wednesday ahead of a wave of economic data including durable goods orders and new home sales.

Thanksgiving traditionally means a celebration of plentiful harvest, but people this year may end up spending a little more on the thanksgiving dinner than before according to the 25th annual survey done by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

UK economy grew in the third quarter, boosted mainly by a strong increase in exports of goods and services.

Shares of Irish banks nosedived on Wednesday driven by fears of a bank run as speculation intensified over government stake hike in the Bank of Ireland and the Allied Irish Banks, even as Dublin was putting final touches to the austerity plan the country was ordered to follow as part of its 85 billion euro bailout announced early this week.

China and Russia announced on Tuesday to renounce US dollar and use their domestic currencies in bilateral trade.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: MakeMyTrip, Telestone Technologies, Tetra Tech, TiVo, NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Ebix, Globe Specialty Metals, The Hain Celestial Group, A123 Systems, and Ariad Pharmaceuticals.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Dynamex, THQ, O'Charley's, Take-Two Interactive Software, SmartHeat, SMART Modular Technologies WWH, LTX-Credence, MIPS Technologies, ChinaCast Education, and Oracle.

Stocks tumbled on heightened geopolitical tensions in Korea and rising fears about the spread of euro zone debt crisis. Minutes from the last FOMC meeting which revealed disagreements among policymakers over the efficacy of the second round of quantitative easing did not help market sentiment either.

Some individuals – like myself and a few other students of crises in the recent cycle – are able to predict the financial storm well in advance, said Nouriel Roubini, co-founder of Roubini Global Economics.

Minutes of the November 2-3 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Credit Suisse expects the S&P 500 index to trade in the 1,100 to 1,300 range, saying that most important potential source of turbulence in equity markets may be the actions of monetary policymakers.

China reiterated its stance on climate change ahead of UN climate summit in Cancun next week, promising effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years.

US stocks declined in early trade on Tuesday as a fresh exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea overshadowed better-than-expected reading on economic activity.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices remained lower on Tuesday despite better-than-expected reading on economic activity as a fresh exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea weighed on the sentiment.

Energy firm Dynegy Inc said it intends to terminate the merger deal with Blackstone Group and seeks new proposals from potentially interested parties.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology, Hovnanian Enterprises, MedAssets, Urban Outfitters, Seagate Technology, Sonic Solutions, Nuance Communications, and Magic Software Enterprises.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Brocade Communications Systems, Harbin Electric, Jack in the Box, JA Solar Holdings, Wonder Auto Technology, DryShips, ARM Holdings, Brigham Exploration, Riverbed Technology, and Hercules Offshore.

Campbell Soup Co. said quarterly earnings were hit by lower sales of its high-margin ready-to-serve and condensed eating soups, where higher promotional spending did not produce the planned volume gains.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Tuesday as a fresh exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea, and concerns over European debt crisis weighed on the sentiment.