EQUITIES

Stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday as cautious investors continued to digest the S&P's recent downgrade warning for the euro zone.

U.S. stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for euro zone nations would lead to tighter budget rules at a summit this week.

A threat by Standard & Poors to slash credit ratings across the euro zone sounded a clarion call on Tuesday, which could help Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel force through a change to the European Union treaty at a summit this week.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit from greater margins, but its chief financial officer said real improvement will not occur until U.S. home buying rebounds.

Stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

Stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on higher margins, and indicated a possible uptick in home deliveries and pricing in 2012 based on an increase in backlog and community count.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning on the euro zone's credit ratings will help force through budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

European stocks and the euro slid and most bond yields rose after the threat from rating agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade euro zone countries en masse if no credible plan to solve the debt crisis emerges at a summit later this week.

Standard & Poor's has warned it may carry out an unprecedented mass downgrade of euro zone countries, including Germany and France, if EU leaders fail to deliver a convincing agreement on how to solve the region's debt crisis in a summit on Friday.

European stocks, bond futures, and the euro were sent reeling on Tuesday by the shock warning from Standard & Poor's that it might downgrade euro zone countries en masse if no credible plan to solve the debt crisis emerges at a summit later this week.

Standard & Poor's on Monday warned it may downgrade the credit ratings of 15 euro zone countries as the region's debt crisis deepens.

Socks gained on Monday, but the day's rally was dampened by news that Germany and other top-rated European nations could see their credit ratings cut.

Standard & Poor's has warned Germany, France and four other top-rated euro zone countries that they risk losing their AAA rating in the next 90 days as the region's debt crisis deepens, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Stocks jumped at the start of what could be the most important week of the year for Wall Street as hopes grew that European leaders will find a solution to the region's debt crisis at a summit on Friday.

Stocks jumped at the start of what could be the most important week of the year for Wall Street as hopes grew that European leaders will find a solution to the region's debt crisis at a summit on Friday.

Stocks of several cloud-computing companies rose on Monday, after German software giant SAP offered to buy Web-based software maker SuccessFactors at a high premium on Friday.

Stock indexes pointed to gains of about 1 percent at the open on Monday, building on the previous week's gains, as optimism grew that an upcoming European Union summit would break new ground to resolve the euro zone debt crisis.

Stock indexes pointed to gains of about 1 percent at the open on Monday, building on the previous week's gains, as optimism grew that an upcoming European Union summit would break new ground to resolve the euro zone debt crisis.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.8-0.9 percent.

World stocks rose and demand for German government bonds slipped on Monday as confidence grew European leaders would make big strides in solving the euro zone's debt crisis at a crucial summit this week.

Asian shares and the euro steadied on Monday on hopes European leaders would agree on a definitive plan to solve the euro zone's debt crisis at a crucial summit this week, with sentiment also getting a lift from Italy unveiling austerity steps.

The euro zone will once again serve as the source of Wall Street's angst, as investors look to a summit of the region's political leaders for decisive solutions for the ballooning debt crisis.

Stocks ended flat on Friday but capped the best week for Wall Street bulls in almost three years after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a 2-1/2 year low.

Stocks ended flat on Friday but capped the best week for Wall Street bulls in almost three years after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a 2-1/2 year low.

Investors pushed stocks higher on Friday, heading for the best week since early 2009, on news the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 2-1/2 year low.

Stocks rose on Friday, on course for their best week in almost three years, after the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a 2-1/2 year low, but resistance close to a key technical level limited gains as traders booked profits before the weekend.

Stocks rose on Friday after data showed the U.S. jobless rate dropped to a 2-1/2 year low and as European policymakers again appeared ready to collaborate in tackling the region's debt crisis.

In the latest in a drumbeat of dismal news, Research in Motion warned on Friday it would fall short of its financial targets after taking a huge charge to write down inventories on its languishing PlayBook tablet, and its shares tumbled more than 8 percent.