DOW JONES

In covering the gold sector, I have noticed something lately. The large-caps really suck! Ok, that is harsh but it is the truth. The chart below shows the large-cap indices. What do you see? The Dow Jones Precious Metals Index hasn't gone anywhere for five years, while Gold has more than doubled.

Even as the rest of Europe remains on an edge about its economic recovery, Germany continues to post strong growth, as shown by the German investor confidence indicator on Tuesday.

Seoul shares are likely to open cautiously on Monday after the latest move by China to tighten monetary policy, while crude refiners and airlines may be tracked on crude oil prices' continued gains.

Singapore shares may open higher on Monday following gains on Wall Street overnight, lifted by financial stocks. However, any gains may be subdued due to China's latest move to tighten monetary policy.

Stocks rose modestly, boosted by strong corporate earnings from J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), allowing the S&P 500 index to score its seventh consecutive week of gains.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday after weak retail sales and a mixed reaction to JPMorgan Chase & Co's quarterly earnings.

U.S. stocks are down slightly in Friday morning trading after the release of U.S. retail sales data and news of further monetary tightening from China.

US futures are set to open lower on Friday after a disappointing jobless claims data, which could weigh on sentiment.

U.S. stocks opened lower after jobs data disappointed investors.

Futures on major U.S. indices fell after the weekly jobless claims data came in worse than analyst expectations.

Stock rallied as banks/financials stocks pushed higher following an upgrade of the sector by Wells Fargo and a successful bond offering in Portugal.

The S&P 500 Index gained 3.69 points, or 0.29 percent, to trade at 1,278.17 at 9.30 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.93 points, or 0.28 percent, to trade at 11,704.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 11.50 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,728.49.

Stocks pushed modestly higher, buoyed by some better-than-expected earnings results from prominent companies like Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA).

US stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday as Alcoa kicked off the earnings season by beating forecasts, while Japan’s pledge to buy eurozone bonds eased concerns about eurozones debt.

As the European debt crisis worsens there appears to be more help coming from Asia, with Japan on Tuesday offering to buy Irish bonds coming up for sale this month.

Stocks finished mixed, following a sell-off in Europe, on worries over Portugal possibly needing a financial bailout, ahead of the kick-off of the fourth-quarter earnings season.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Monday with futures on the S&P 500 down 0.58 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.42 percent and Nasdaq100 futures down 0.40 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.55 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 11.674.76. At one point the Dow was down as much as 100 points. The S&P 500 dropped 2.35 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1271.50; while the Nasdaq shed 6.72 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2703.17.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a lower opening on Friday as investors await key U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data from the government.

U.S. stocks finished mixed in queasy trading ahead of tomorrow’s nonfarm payroll report from the government. Investors also pondered a rise in initial jobless claims and some weaker-than-expected December sales from some major retailers.

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