EQUITIES

Stock index futures eased from earlier highs but still pointed to a higher open on Tuesday after data showed the economy grew in the third quarter, but at a much slower pace than first thought.

Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session, as investors awaited a final reading on third-quarter economic growth and existing home sales data.

Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session, as investors awaited a final reading on third-quarter economic growth and existing home sales data.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.28 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.27 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 3:40 a.m. EST.

The dollar held firm on Tuesday against major currencies, and hit a two-month high against the yen, while Asian shares edged up as technology stocks tracked a rally in their peers on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the Nasdaq hitting a 15-month high after a healthcare reform bill advanced in the Senate and brokerages upgraded two Dow components on improving profit prospects.

Stocks rose on Monday, with the Nasdaq hitting a 15-month high after a healthcare reform bill advanced in the Senate and brokerages upgraded two Dow components on improving profit prospects.

Stocks mounted a broad advance on Monday after a key healthcare reform bill advanced in the Senate and brokerages upgraded Dow components Intel Corp and Alcoa Inc on improving profit prospects.

U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq eyeing new year highs, lifted by the healthcare sector after a Senate bill advanced that omitted some provisions opposed by the industry.

U.S. stocks gained more than 1 percent on Monday, buoyed by the healthcare sector after a Senate bill advanced that had been stripped of provisions deemed detrimental to health insurers and other companies.

Walgreen Co gave investors reasons to question its drugstore overhaul strategy on Monday with muted comments about its success, overshadowing a better-than-expected jump in quarterly profit.

Stocks gained more than 1 percent on Monday, buoyed by healthcare shares, after a Senate bill advanced which had been stripped of provisions seen as detrimental to health insurance and other companies.

Stocks rose on Monday after health-care overhaul passed a crucial test in the Senate and as aluminum producer Alcoa announced an overseas deal and a brokerage upgraded its stock.

Wall Street was set to open higher on Monday on expectations that rising commodity prices and a downtick in the U.S. dollar would boost stocks in the energy and materials sectors and after brokerages upgrades on Alcoa and Intel.

Stock index futures rose on Monday on expectations that rising commodity prices and a downtick in the U.S. dollar would boost stocks in the energy and materials sectors.

Stock index futures were higher on Monday on expectations that rising commodity prices and a downtick in the U.S. dollar would boost stocks in the energy and materials sectors.

London Stock Exchange has agreed a deal to take a 60 percent stake in loss-making trading platform rival Turquoise and will merge it with its own dark pool platform, Baikal, to create a new pan-Europe venture.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher opening on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.13 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.07 percent at 0845 GMT (3:45 a.m. EST).

Santa came early for Wall Street this year by giving the S&P 500 a 22 percent gain for 2009, and with just eight trading days left in the year, stock investors are not expecting to find much more under the tree.

Santa came early for Wall Street this year by delivering a 22 percent return for 2009, and with just a handful of trading days to go, stock investors are not expecting to find much more under the tree.

Santa came early for Wall Street this year by delivering a 22 percent return for 2009, and with just a handful of trading days to go, stock investors aren't expecting to find much more under the tree.

Stocks rose on Friday in choppy trade as quarterly results from Oracle and Research In Motion lifted the Nasdaq more than 1 percent, but the U.S. dollar's climb curbed gains in both the Dow and the S&P 500.

Stocks rose on Friday in choppy trade as quarterly results from Oracle and Research In Motion lifted the Nasdaq more than 1 percent, but the U.S. dollar's climb curbed gains in both the Dow and the S&P 500.

The Nasdaq rose on Friday as quarterly results from Oracle and Research In Motion boosted optimism about a recovery in technology spending, but the U.S. dollar's rise weighed on the Dow and S&P 500 as investors pared back risky bets.

The Dow and the S&P 500 slipped on Friday as the U.S. dollar's advance led investors to pare back risky bets, but the Nasdaq edged higher as upbeat results from Oracle and Research In Motion boosted optimism about technology spending.

Upbeat results from technology bellwethers Oracle and Research In Motion lifted U.S. stocks on Friday, while rising oil prices boosted energy shares.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday after upbeat results from technology bellwethers Oracle and Research In Motion.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday on upbeat results from technology bellwethers Research In Motion and Oracle.

The euro stabilized on Friday after this week's steep losses against the dollar and yen and rose off nine-month lows versus the Swiss franc while higher oil prices helped European stocks higher in thin year-end trade.