GLOBAL MARKETS

The Consumer Reports Index, which tracks the financial optimism of Americans, plunged more than five points to 43.4 this month, the lowest in two years.

Oil and natural gas companies, whether integrated or independent, whether upstream or downstream, posted gains as investors picked up heavily discounted stocks.

The U.S. stock market soared ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement after a brutal session on Monday.

Inergy, a propane business and natural gas storage master limited partnership, posts a fiscal third quarter loss, largely in line with seasonal weakness.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Tuesday are: MetroPCS Communications, Bank of America, NYSE Euronext, AK Steel Holding, Regions Financial, Regions Financial, MEMC Electronic Materials, Halliburton, Duke Energy, Bristol Myers Squibb and Plum Creek Timber.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: ARM Holdings, DryShips, ZAGG, Logitech International, and Web.com Group. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Limelight Networks, Fossil, Clean Energy Fuels, Lionbridge Technologies, and Kimball International.

U.S. markets were poised to open higher Tuesday as futures rose based on anticipated action from the Fed.

FBR Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) to "outperform" from "market perform" while maintaining its price target of $31 as valuation was too attractive to ignore.

In times of market volatility stemming from global economic and sovereign debt uncertainties, FBR Capital Markets believes investors are faced with increasingly difficult decisions about how best to position their portfolios to maximize alpha while carefully balancing portfolio risk.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Cross Country Healthcare, MAKO Surgical, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Sirona Dental Systems, and Brigham Exploration. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Limelight Networks, EnerNOC, Clean Energy Fuels, TASER International, and Canadian Solar.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed the day on Monday at 634.76 points. The drop is the sixth worst point decline for the Dow in the last 112 years and the worst since December 2008. Additionally, every stock in the Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped on Monday.

Every individual issue in the S&P 500 index dropped in value ? in what might be an unprecedented event.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was rocked by investor fear on Monday, dropping 634 points during trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted more than 600 points midday Monday, as the disarray continues following Standard & Poor's downgrading of the United States' credit rating on Friday. The Dow traded down 536.18 points, or 4.7 percent, at 10908.43. It is fast on track to having its worst day since December 2008. Additionally, the Standard & Poor's 500 index sharply went down 68.49 points, or 5.7 percent, to 1130.89.

Amidst the slaughter in equities, Treasuries rallied and gold soared to a new all-time high.

The Dow Jones suffered its sixth-worse loss ever on Monday, dropping 634 points in the first trading day after S&P's downgrade of the United States.

Call it downgradeageddon, the fear sending U.S. markets sharply lower.

The sell-off in the U.S. stock market is getting ugly.

The Dow lost four percent in trading mid-day Monday, while the Nasdaq and S&P lost five percent. President Barack Obama addressed downgrade Monday, but the markets dropped further after his comments.

The U.S. stock market plunged on the historic downgrade of U.S. debt by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Mauritius is cutting its foreign reserve exposure to the U.S. dollar and the euro due to debt concerns in both regions by purchasing commodity currencies and is eyeing government securities from some of the BRIC nations, it said on Monday.

The Kenyan shilling extended its tumble to touch a new record low of 93.58 against the dollar on Monday, while the benchmark share index fell 2 percent as the global sell-off of emerging and frontier assets hit local markets.

S.Africa's rand and stocks fell to multi-month lows on Monday as investors dumping risk hammered everything from resource firms to banks after the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating prompted a sell-off.

Standard & Poor's downgrading in the U.S. continued Monday, as the ratings agency lowered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee roughly half of all mortgages in America.

It looks like the U.S. Government isn't the only one taking a ratings hit. Standard & Poor's cut Freddie Mac's and Fannie Mae's long-term ratings one notch on Monday.

Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term debt rating for the U.S. to AA+, while Moody?s and Fitch maintained their ratings.

In opening minutes of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.2 percent, S&P 500 has slid 2.2 percent and Nasdaq has fallen 3.1 percent.

U.S. markets shed as much as two percent at the open Monday, on news of the S&P's U.S. debt rating downgrade and subsequent plummets in global markets overnight.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: BroadSoft, Qiagen, and Randgold Resources. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Hercules Offshore, ZAGG, Rambus, Caribou Coffee Company, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, and Central European Media Enterprises.