Bhaskar Prasad

A nationwide strike called by the opposition parties to protest against the foreign direct investment in retail and the fuel price hike partially affected the normal life in India Thursday.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Thursday as investor concerns about the faltering global economic growth were revived following Japan’s increasing trade deficit.

European markets fell Thursday as investor confidence was weighed down by the global economic concerns following the increasing trade deficit of Japan and China’s disappointing manufacturing activity.

China's manufacturing activity stabilized in September compared to August, according to the preliminary HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index released Thursday.

Asian markets fell Thursday as investor confidence was weighed down by the report that Japan's trade deficit increased in August, raising more concerns about the faltering global economy.

European markets rose Wednesday as investor confidence was lifted after the Bank of Japan announced stimulus measures to revive economic growth momentum.

Most of the Asian markets dropped Tuesday as investor confidence was weighed down by the intensifying tensions between China and Japan and the increasing concerns over the euro zone debt crisis.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Monday after the rally seen last week following the announcement of the Federal Reserve's plan to buy mortgage securities.

European markets fell Monday as investor sentiment turned negative after fears of the debt crisis affecting the euro zone were revived undermining the optimism over the stimulus measures announced by policymakers to bolster economic growth.

Most of the Asian markets dropped Monday after the rally last week when investor confidence was buoyed by the optimism that the stimulus measures announced by the central banks in the U.S. and the Europe would help revive the global economic growth momentum.

With the Bank of Korea unexpectedly holding its policy rate at 3 percent, market participants feel that stimulus measures will be urgently needed to reinvigorate the country?s weakening economy.

Most of the Asian markets gained in the week as investor confidence was lifted following the announcement of another round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to rejuvenate the economic growth.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Friday as investors kept up a buoyant mood following the announcement of quantitative easing measures by the Federal Reserve, which is expected to boost economic growth.

European markets rose Friday as investor sentiment turned positive following the announcement of another round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Asian stock markets made gains Friday as investor confidence was lifted following the announcement of another round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to rejuvenate the economic growth.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Thursday as investors maintained a cautious mode ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting in which there is the likelihood of another round of quantitative easing measures to be announced to invigorate the economy.

Most of the European markets fell Thursday as investors remained watchful waiting for the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce stimulus measures to revive the economic growth.

Most of the Asian markets made gains Thursday as investors remained hopeful waiting for the policymakers in the U.S. to announce monetary easing measures to boost the global economy and rejuvenate the economic growth momentum.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Wednesday as investor confidence was underpinned by expectation that the Federal Reserve will announce stimulus measures this week to invigorate the economy and boost growth.

Most European markets rose Wednesday with investors awaiting Germany's Constitutional Court to approve the euro zone's new bailout fund to help reduce the debt stress faced by the countries in the region.

Asian stock markets rose Wednesday as investors remained hopeful that policymakers in the U.S. and China would announce monetary easing measures to boost the global economy and rejuvenate economic growth momentum.

The U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Tuesday as investor sentiment turned positive amid hopes that the Federal Reserve would announce monetary easing measures this week to revive the economic growth momentum.

European markets fell Tuesday as investor confidence was weighed down by increasing concerns of the debt crisis affecting the euro zone.

Most of the Asian markets fell Tuesday as investors' concerns about the debt crisis affecting the euro zone were revived, undermining the optimism initially raised by the bond-buying plan announced last week by the European Central Bank.

Most of the European markets marginally fell Monday as investor optimism over last week's bond buying plan announced by the European Central Bank began to fade and concerns about the debt crisis faced by the euro zone was revived.

Infosys Technologies Monday said that it would buy Swiss technology consulting firm Lodestone Holding AG for 330 million Swiss francs ($350 million) which is expected to help India's second biggest software exporter to improve services to its clients.