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French bank Societe Generale beat forecasts with an almost fourfold leap in second-quarter net profit as lighter loan-loss provisions and toxic assets helped offset weaker investment banking revenue.

The AUD has had a strong night during the offshore session, currently trading comfortably above USD0.9100 after better than expected manufacturing data was released in the US and exceptional profit reports from some of Europe's main banks saw risk appetite back on the table.

Wall Street was poised to open about 1 percent higher on Monday, building on last month's solid gains as investors focused on encouraging corporate results, including strong bank earnings out of Europe.

HSBC and BNP Paribas, strengthened by the financial crisis in their roles as top European banks, both trumped earnings forecasts as bad debts fell sharply to make up for slowing investment banking growth.

The dollar index hit a three-month low on Monday, hurt by worries that the U.S. economy's recovery is losing steam, while the high-yielding Australian dollar reached a three-month high, buoyed by a rise in equities.

BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, trumped second-quarter profit expectations on Monday and said the market environment would improve in the third quarter as investor confidence in Europe's banks rises.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Monday, with the S&P 500 futures up 1.1 percent, Nasdaq futures 0.8 percent higher, and futures for the Dow Jones industrial average up 1 percent by 4:38 a.m. ET.

HSBC's half-year profit more than doubled from a year ago to easily beat analysts' expectations as bad debts at Europe's biggest bank fell to their lowest level since the start of the financial crisis.

World stocks kicked off August in a strong mood on Monday as results from BNP Paribas and HSBC boosted optimism for corporate earnings and the economic outlook for the rest of the year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> plans to buy BNP Paribas' stake in a Chinese fund venture for $50 million, giving Japan's biggest bank access to China's $300 billion mutual funds market, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, posted higher-than-expected second-quarter net profit thanks to lower loan provisions and strong retail banking, despite volatile financial market conditions.

BNP Paribas SA has hired former Bank of America Corp executive Chris Innes to head equity sales for the Americas in New York, a person familiar with the matter said.

France's Sanofi-Aventis is expected to bid up to $18.7 billion for Genzyme Corp by the weekend, but an offer at that price is not likely to sway the U.S. biotech company, sources said on Thursday.

Gold firmed in Europe on Thursday as some buyers were tempted back to the market by the precious metal's fall to three-month lows, while the weaker dollar also helped support prices. European investment remained lackluster as risk appetite sharpened, however, while the world's largest gold-backed exchange traded fund reported a hefty outflow on Wednesday.

Oil prices rose toward $80 a barrel to hit the highest level since early May as upbeat corporate results and rallying equities increased risk appetite for the commodity. U.S. stock index futures jumped on Tuesday, setting Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains, while European shares touched a five-week high.

Robust U.S. company earnings and surprisingly vigorous euro zone economic data generally trumped investor skepticism about European bank stress tests on Monday to lift global stocks and bolster the euro against the dollar

The euro erased early gains against the dollar on Monday as caution set in after initial investor calm in the wake of the release of European banks' stress test results late on Friday. Early risk-taking sentiment faded, with European shares down 0.4 percent .FTEU3 by mid-morning. Just seven of 91 banks failed the tests, including six in Spain and Greece, for an overall capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros.

Robust U.S. company earnings and surprisingly vigorous euro zone economic data generally trumped investor skepticism about European bank stress tests on Monday to lift global stocks and bolster the euro against the dollar

The euro firmed against the dollar on Monday as investors bought into riskier assets, calmed after the release of European banks' stress test results late on Friday. Just seven of 91 banks failed the tests, including in Spain and Greece, for an overall capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros.

Seven of 91 European banks have failed stress tests and show an overall capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros, the organizers of the tests said on Friday.

France's top four banks passed the European banking stress test with an average Tier 1 ratio of 9.3 percent in 2011 under a worst-case scenario, compared with 9.9 percent at the end of 2009, the Bank of France said on Friday.

Dollar funding costs eased for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday and the U.S. commercial paper market grew for a second straight week. For the week ended July 21, the size of the U.S. commercial paper market, a vital source of short-term funding for corporate day-to-day operations, rose by $2.4 billion to $1.100 trillion outstanding from $1.097 trillion the previous week, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

Dollar funding costs eased on Thursday with the three-month interbank rate falling below 0.5 percent for the first time in two months and gains in Euro dollar futures implying further declines in the near term.

India's Tata Steel has started talks with lenders including Citigroup to refinance as much as 3.5 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) in loans for its British unit, Bloomberg reported, citing six sources with knowledge of the matter.

U.S. Treasury debt prices slipped on Monday, but volume was scant and analysts said the day's market action would be driven mostly by the stock market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which had fallen to 2.93 percent by Friday's close as stocks suffered their worst one-day drop since June, was trading at 2.95 percent, while its price was off by 6/32.

Gold fell more than 1 percent to a two-month low at $1,178.40 an ounce on Monday as sharper appetite for assets seen as higher risk, like equities and industrial commodities, dented the metal's appeal as a haven.

The U.S. dollar fell broadly on Thursday, with the euro soaring to a two-month high above $1.29 as soft inflation and manufacturing data added to concern about the strength of the U.S. economy. Data showing a third straight monthly decline in producer prices came a day after Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed policymakers think they may need to do more to boost the economy if a sputtering recovery slows any further.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are in talks with Italy's UniCredit SpA about its proposal for a 20 billion euros ($25.2 billion) private sector fund to help failing lenders, a source close to the issue said.

Some of Europe's biggest banks are in talks with Italy's UniCredit SpA about its proposal for a 20 billion euros ($25.2 billion) private sector fund to help failing lenders, a source close to the issue said.