GLOBAL MARKETS

U.S. stock futures rose 1 percent on Thursday after a sharp drop on Wall Street overnight, limiting losses in Asian share markets, though the focus was shifting to how Europe reacts to a sovereign debt crisis that is now threatening its banking system.

New China Life, the third-largest life insurance company in China, has filed its listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange, setting the stage for a planned IPO of up to $4 billion in Hong Kong and Shanghai, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.

August's dramatic financial shock, which is now both feeding off and risks fueling another economic downturn, may well introduce a third phase of the four-year-old global credit crisis -- the infection of the ultimate creditors.

U.S. stocks plunged again in another wild and erratic session on Wednesday.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) just became the most valuable company in the world by declining less than Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), the previous leader, in Wednesday?s brutal session that saw the S&P 500 plunge 4.42 percent.

HSBC plans to dispose of its 8 percent stake in Bank of Shanghai, a Chinese newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.

China Railway Group , the country's largest railroad builder, has dropped a plan to raise about 6.2 billion yuan ($966 million) via a share placement, the company said on Thursday.

Beijing should move rapidly to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, buying more euro and yen rather than dollar assets, after U.S. debt was downgraded by one rating agency, a paper run by China's central bank cited local banking sources as saying.

The euro fell to fresh five-month lows against the yen in Asia on Thursday and looked set to stay under pressure as worries about the euro zone sovereign debt crisis spread to the region's banking sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 520 points on Wednesday wiping out Tuesday's rebound as investors continue to worry about the European debt crisis and the health of the global banking system. The Dow's 4.62 percent drop has placed the blue-chip index back below the 11,000 level, closing at the lowest level since last September.

U.S. stocks tumbled more than 4 percent on Wednesday, almost wiping out gains from a relief rally the previous day, as rumors about the health of French banks sparked concern that the euro zone's debt crisis could claim new victims.

In what is turning out to a highly volatile week, U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday on a vicious late-session sell-off.

Crude oil historically trades at about 8 times the price of natural gas. Currently, it's trading at about 20 times natural gas. Is oil overpriced, natural gas underpriced, or is it a combination?

These two iconic corporations are going in decidedly different directions.

The UK is seeing the worst civil unrest in 30 years just months before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but officials are optimistic that the riots will have no effect on the safety or planning of the games.

A reorientation of Russia to East from West could be a complete economic game-changer.

Gloomy comments from South Africa's central bank on the impact of global financial turmoil on the country's capital formation, key to growth, were the backdrop to a fall in bond yields and a volatile day for the rand, which ended down against the dollar.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) has agreed to buy HSBC's credit card unit for approximately $32.7 billion, netting HSBC a $2.6 billion premium.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch?s Global Commodity Research team announced that they?ve rebalanced their actively managed commodity indices in favor of non-cyclical commodities such as gold.

U.S. stocks took another tumble Wednesday, as fears of the weak global economy took hold.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Polo Ralph Lauren, Monsanto, Tenet Healthcare, Sunoco, Nvidia, Travelers Companies, Walt Disney, Carnival, News Corp and Corning Inc.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Wet Seal, Adolor, Limelight Networks, Cree, and Central European Media Enterprises. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Motricity, Amtech Systems, Partner Communications Company, Finisar, and ASML Holding.

To say it's been an unsettling time for U.S. stock investors would be an understatement. The Dow has been on a wild ride, with plunges followed by sudden reversals. Look for market choppiness to continue until investors determine whether the Fed's latest monetary policy decision -- low interest rates for two years -- will be enough to rev-up U.S. GDP growth.

Jefferies & Co. upgraded its rating on shares of ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ONNN) to "buy" from "hold" while maintaining its price target of $9.50.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Tuesday are: Endeavor International, Zale Corp, Teekay Tankers, Allergan and DHT Holdings. The top after-market NYSE losers are: AOL, Miller Energy Resources, Crawford, Lindsay Corp and Federal Signal Corp.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Vitesse Semiconductor, Smart Technologies, Solazyme, Cree, and Aceto. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Motricity, Amtech Systems, Buffalo Wild Wings, Globe Specialty Metals, and Bon-Ton Stores.

U.S. stocks clawed back most of Monday's losses as a U.S. Federal Reserve promise of at least two more years of near-zero interest rates overshadowed its warning about slowing economic growth. The Fed's statement gave markets a glimmer of hope, with stocks' gains accelerating into Tuesday's close.

U.S. stocks soared in turbulent trading Tuesday, coming off the worst three day selloff since the financial crisis, as investors took in stride the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest rates near zero at least through mid-2013.

"We view the FOMC statement as aggressively dovish, even beyond our expectations," said Dan Dorrow of Connecticut-based Faros Trading.