GLOBAL MARKETS

European shares steadied after hitting a six-month high on Thursday as strong gains in miners on merger talks between Xstrata (XTA.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L) were offset by a sell-off in defensives, with Unilever (ULVR.L) down on poor outlook.

The Dow and S&P 500 advanced for a second day on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data and hopes for further progress on a solution to Europe's fiscal mess bolstered sentiment.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Open Text Corp, ShoreTel, JDS Uniphase, Electronic Arts, Cadence Design Systems, Zynga, Kelly Services, QUALCOMM and Sina Corp.

The top after-market NASDAQ Losers Wednesday were: Shutterfly, Accuray, Nektar Therapeutics, BioScrip, Echelon Corp, Merge Healthcare, Astronics Corp, IAC/InterActiveCorp, FSI International and IPC Hospitalist Co.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Wednesday were: RealD, Petroquest Energy, RailAmerica, GenCorp, Allstate, Penn Virginia, Graphic Packaging Holding, Huntsman and Sequans Communications.

The top aftermarket NYSE losers Wednesday were: Sandridge Energy, Materion Corp, Endeavor International, McDermott International, OMNOVA Solutions, MEMC Electronic Materials, General Cable Corp, W.R. Berkley Corp, Ciber and Fair Isaac Corp.

The top after-market NASDAQ Loser Tuesday were: JDA Software Group, Amazon.com, Ubiquiti Networks, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Harmonic, Concurrent Computer Corp, Silgan Holdings and Sify Technologies.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Tuesday were: Key Tronic Corp, Medivation, Aspen Technology, Fortinet, Myriad Genetics, Seagate Technology, Stratasys and ZAGG Inc.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Molina Healthcare, Brunswick, W.R. Berkley, Manitowoc Co and Gafisa SA. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Unisys Corp, Medical Properties Trust, Oasis Petroleum, Skilled Healthcare Group and E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc.

Wall Street closed its best month since October on a flat note on Tuesday as weaker-than-expected economic reports surprised investors after a stream of positive data in recent months.

Stocks gave up early gains to turn flat on Tuesday, weighed down by mixed corporate earnings and weaker-than-expected data on Midwest business activity and consumer confidence.

Hong Kong shares rose on Tuesday with the Hang Seng Index streaking to its best January since 1996, but further upside is expected to be capped going into earnings season after several profit warnings from mainland companies.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended nearly flat on Tuesday, but logged its best January performance in 13 years as investors remained optimistic that the U.S. economic recovery could offset disappointing domestic corporate earnings.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 indexes up 0.5-0.6 percent.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Monday were: PAREXEL International Corp, Hologic, Rudolph Technologies, ImmunoGen, School Specialty and Mindspeed Technologies. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Align Technology, Rent-A-Center Inc, Rex Energy Corp, magicJack VocalTec, ICU Medical and Cognex Corp.

The top aftermarket NYSE losers Monday were: Radioshack Corp, Ormat Technologies, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Plum Creek Timber Co, Senior Housing Properties Trust, Radian Group, InvenSense, National Bank of Greece SA, Best Buy Co and Demand Media Inc.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Monday were: McKesson Corp, New York & Co, Inergy, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings, Talbots, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, HyperDynamics Corp, New York Times and Hyatt Hotels Corp.

Japan's Nikkei share average was on track to snap a three-day losing run Tuesday and headed for its best January performance since 1999, as investors took cues from optimism about the U.S. economy and shrugged off weaker corporate earnings results.

Stocks edged lower on Monday on stalled Greek debt talks, but an afternoon rally cut losses in a sign of the underlying resilience the market has shown early in the year.

Stocks fell on Monday after Greece's efforts to reach a debt restructuring with creditors stalled, hampering European leaders' push to shift the market's focus to jobs and growth.

Weakness in banks and commodity stocks dragged Britain's leading share index lower on Monday as the protracted search for a Greek bond deal and concerns about economic growth kept investors nervous.

Hong Kong shares snapped a six-session winning streak on Monday, dragged down by Chinese banks and developers, as investors took profits on some recent outperformers while waiting to see if there will be a Greek debt-swap deal that averts a default.

Copper fell on Monday, pulling back from a four-month high as demand prospects dimmed amid a lack of progress in talks to avoid a disorderly Greek default, tempting investors to cash in on January's rally.

Stock index futures fell on Monday as concerns grew about the state of Europe's finances as Greece and Germany sparred over budget measures for Athens.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Friday were: Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Alkermes, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, First Solar, Firsthand Technology Value Fund and Brooks Automation. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Crosstex Energy, Complete Genomics, Complete Genomics, Vistaprint, Curis, MAKO Surgical Corp and Rambus.

The top aftermarket NYSE Losers Friday were: Pharmerica Corp, MGIC Investment, Telefonos de Mexico, K-V Pharmaceutical, Alon USA Energy, Kindred Healthcare, Vitamin Shoppe and FelCor Lodging Trust.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Friday were: Renren, RealD, US Airways Group, Kinder Morgan Management, Green Dot Corp, Medifast, Heckmann Corp, Magna International, Quicksilver Resources and Gannett Co.

January has turned out to be strong for stocks with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.