GLOBAL MARKETS

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: CyberDefender, Lattice Semiconductor, support.com, Cost Plus, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Cogo Group, Sky-mobi, LJ International, Entropic Communications, and Novavax.

AOL Inc. announced its acquisition of New York-based content marketing platform startup Pictela to bolster its advertising offering. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pictela is a platform for distributing videos, photos and applications across the Web in real time.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices remained-range bound on Thursday ahead of economic data, including key weekly U.S. jobs data from the government.

The companies which are expected to see active trade in Thursday are Oracle, Accenture, Research In Motion, Danaher, FedEx and General Mills.

EUR/USD probably freed itself from a falling channel and entered a slightly progressing uptrend, inside which the pair is now poised for a rebound.

Oracle Corp., one of the world's biggest enterprise software makers, is expected to report better-than-expected numbers, when it reports second quarter results today after the market closes.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Tower Bancorp, Capitol Federal Financial, Orthofix International, Pulaski Financial, Energy Recovery, Energy Conversion Devices, China Ritar Power, EZchip Semiconductor, and Hercules Offshore.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: CyberDefender, Lattice Semiconductor, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Cogo Group, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, LJ International, Nordson, Herman Miller, Sangamo Biosciences, and Motricity.

Stocks on Wall Street drifted lower, erasing an early-session rally, as the dollar jumped and traders weighed a credit downgrade warning on Spain and the U.S. Senate’s passage of the $885-billion tax cut extension bill.

Economists at Morgan Stanley think Latin American currencies will continue to appreciate in 2011 because of economic growth, interest rate differentials versus the U.S. dollar, and the expected positive performance of commodities.

UBS initiated coverage of General Motors with a 'neutral' rating and $37 price target, saying that the automaker has no near-term catalysts to move the stock.

Investors are increasingly attracted to U.S. stocks as the fiscal/sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone deepens, according to a fund manager survey by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoAML)

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Motricity, BSD Medical, American Capital, Aixtron, Vodafone Group, Logitech International, YRC Worldwide, Broadcom, AutoNavi Holdings, and Baidu.

Benchmark Capital raised its profit estimates and price target on Google Inc., citing the company's strong operating momentum in search business.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Cypress Bioscience, SodaStream International, Joy Global, MannKind, Maxygen, First Solar, Corinthian Colleges, JA Solar Holdings, VIVUS, and Orexigen Therapeutics.

It is inevitable for Indian banks to compromise on margin as the country is going through a rising interest rate scenario, which has pushed most banks' stocks below their end-September levels, but at least three main private banks are still selling at a higher price, probably helped by valuation advantage and mostly steady pricing of deposits by Indians residing abroad.

The brokerage maintained its 'buy' rating on shares of the software major with a price target of $33.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a lower opening on Wednesday with futures on the S&P 500 down 0.47 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.39 percent and Nasdaq100 futures down 0.47 percent.

Swiss drug maker Novartis will pay $12.9 billion to buy the remaining shares of Alcon it doesn't already own to broaden its presence in the booming eye-care market, which is expected to outgrow the pharmaceuticals market in coming years.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Hansen Natural, Terremark Worldwide, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, National Beverage, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Dynamex, Merge Healthcare, Immucor, Cytokinetics, and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: SurModics, Blue Coat Systems, Golar LNG, BJ's Restaurants, MannKind, Cathay General Bancorp, RealNetworks, Scientific Games, First Solar, and Advanced Energy Industries.

Precious metals were down in Asian trade on Wednesday, as dollar's gains following Tuesday's FOMC decision to keep the US quantitative easing program uninterrupted weighed on the investment appeal of the commodities.

Stocks retreated in the final hour of trading after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at near-zero, maintained its bond-buying program and warned about the slow pace of economic recovery in the U.S.

Gold and silver fell off day's highs after stronger-than-expected US data released Tuesday morning in New York strengthened the greenback, losses in which had helped the metals rose to 1-week highs earlier in the day, but both metals held on to the SMA support strongly.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: optionsXpress Holdings, Gulfport Energy, Veeco Instruments, Horizon Technology Finance, Bruker, NGP Capital Resources, SunPower, Huntington Bancshares, Logitech International, and Powerwave Technologies.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to modestly higher opening on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Genoptix, Sanderson Farms, Infinera, Amgen, Ness Technologies, MannKind, Silicom, Comcast, NVIDIA, and Orexigen Therapeutics.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a modestly higher opening on Tuesday ahead of a wave of economic data including the US Federal Open Market Committee statement (FOMC).