IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.1 percent at 0912 GMT (5:12 a.m. ET), as investors fretted about the impact of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Stock index futures fell on Sunday as investors reacted to the worsening situation in Japan.

Japanese stocks fell 7.5 percent, posting the biggest daily decline since October 2008, and bond yields rose on Monday as investors expected the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeast to take an economic toll and require heavy government borrowing.

It was a crucial weekend in the Spanish La Liga as Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Sevilla cutting their lead at the top to five points after Real Madrid had cruised to a 2-0 victory against lowly Hercules on Saturday.

The Bank of Japan eased its ultra-loose monetary policy further on Monday by expanding its asset-buying programme while keeping rates on hold.

Japan's central bank doubled its asset buying scheme to 10 trillion yen and supplied record funds to banks on Monday to shore up confidence in the economy hit by a triple blow of a massive quake, a tsunami and a nuclear emergency.

The team has worked on a novel ultra-low-power digital memory based on power phase change materials (PCM) that could drastically reduce the time between successive recharges of battery in all mobile devices.

Global companies from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders faced disruptions to operations after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan destroyed vital infrastructure and knocked out factories producing everything from high-tech components to steel.

Six and a half decades after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war, a powerful earthquake plunged Japan into another nuclear crisis. Start the slideshow to see photos:

Japan's already weak economy faces deeper damage than initially thought from the triple blow of a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and risks prolonging its sluggish recovery.

A compilation of latest videos of the Japan tsunami, ranging from the footage captured by local witnesses to media outlets.

The economies of the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas began to grow again by the end of last year, but the recovery was slow, uneven and inconsistent and failed to spur much jobs growth, according to a study by the Brookings Institute released on Monday.

Asian firms from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders faced the risk of disruptions to their operations after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan destroyed vital infrastructure and knocked out factories producing everything from high tech components to steel.

Seven out of the top ten positions in a ranking of global universities by Times Higher Education according to their reputation and perception among academics were bagged by universities in the U.S., with Harvard emerging on top.

Shares in Asian companies tumbled on Monday after the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan that likely killed more than 10,000 people.

Brent crude fell by almost $3, reaching a two-week low near $111 on investor pessimism that economic growth will slow in the wake of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, while easing unrest in the Middle East threw the focus back onto ample oil supplies.

Japan's equity futures fell 6 percent on Monday as investors took stock of the economic damage from the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeastern region.

The Bank of Japan is expected to discuss easing monetary policy further at its rate review on Monday, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Bank of Japan offered to pump a record $183 billion into the money market on Monday and may ease its ultra-loose policy further to calm markets after a massive earthquake hit the country's northeast, killing thousands and triggering a nuclear crisis.

Japanese stocks fell 6 percent and long-term government bond yields rose on Monday as investors expected the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeast to take a toll on the economy and require significant government borrowing.

Japanese authorities warned against the yen's rise as the currency rallied broadly early in Asia on Monday following Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The Bank of Japan offered to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system on Monday, its first same-day market operation since the Greek debt crisis, to soothe market jitters after a massive earthquake hit northeastern Japan.

Brent crude on Monday fell by as much as 1.2 percent to below $113 on investor pessimism that economic growth will slow in the wake of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, while easing unrest in the Middle East threw the focus back onto ample oil supplies.

The Treasury Department said Sunday it is monitoring financial markets closely in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Japan last week but had assurances that transactions systems were working.

Morgan Stanley's Asia CEO, Owen Thomas, is leaving his current role and returning to the United States, three years after taking the Wall Street bank's reins in the region.

A second hydrogen blast has been reported at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, this time at Reactor No. 3, the government's nuclear safety agency said Monday, according to Kyodo News.

The Bank of Japan injected a record 7 trillion yen ($85 billion) into the money market on Monday, its first same-day market operation since the Greek debt crisis, to soothe market jitters after a massive earthquake hit northeastern Japan.

Anonymous, a hacker group sympathetic to WikiLeaks, plans to release e-mails obtained from Bank of America Corp early Monday morning, according to posts on the group's Twitter feed.

A Renault security manager was put under investigation on suspicion of fraud on Sunday, an official at the Paris prosecutor's office said, as a case of suspected industrial espionage at the carmaker continues to unravel.