The Singapore Exchange (SGX), Singapore’s stock market, said it will do away with its lunch break and launch continuous all-day trading from March.
The companies that reported earnings before the markets open on Wednesday are: Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, State Street, Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon and Hudson City Bancorp.
Agribusiness behemoth Cargill Inc. said it plans to split off its majority 64 percent stake in fertilizer-maker Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), in a transaction valued at $24.3 billion.
Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose during the week ended January 14 as interest rates dipped to lowest levels in a month, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.
Germany raised its official growth forecast for 2011 from 1.8 percent projected in October last year to 2.3 percent, signaling Europe's largest economy is poised to drive global recovery this year.
China's consumer price index (CPI) dipped to 4.6 percent in the last year, according to a report by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, BBC reported.
World stocks reached their highest levels in nearly 2-1/2 years on Wednesday with the MSCI world equity index reaching 1324, the highest since August 2008.
The number of unemployed people in the UK rose by 49,000 to 2.5 million during three months to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday.
The companies which are expected to see active trade on Wednesday are Apple, Goldman Sachs, eBay, IBM, Cree, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and Xilinx.
Futures on major U.S. indices point to a flat opening on Wednesday ahead of quarterly earnings from top investment bank Goldman Sachs and key housing data due to be released before market opens.
Asia's rapid economic growth will moderate slightly in 2011 even as policymakers combat rising prices with higher interest rates and try to keep local currencies from appreciating too sharply, a Reuters quarterly poll showed.
Swiss drug maker Roche said its investigational drug for advanced skin cancer - RG7204 - showed significant survival benefit in a late stage study.
The BSE Sensex nudged up 0.2 percent on Wednesday powered by metal producers on firm world metal prices, but trading was choppy reflecting investor concern about inflation and a looming rate rise.
Hong Kong stocks are set to rise on Wednesday following a higher close on Wall Street which was supported by commodity-related counters and strong earnings from technology bellwethers Apple (AAPL.O) and IBM (IBM.N).
A trade delegation from China will sign agreements in Chicago on Thursday to buy an unspecified amount of U.S. soybeans, the U.S. Soybean Export Council said in a statement.
U.S. stocks climbed modestly higher, despite some negative developments with market behemoths Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Citigroup (NYSE: C).
Ordinary American citizens can for the first time invest in the yuan, China's currency, through Bank of China's branches in the U.S.
Ghana's stock exchange expects at least four new listings this year, including a local float by oil group Tullow Plc, and predicts that inflows of new pension funds will boost trading volumes.
Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said on Tuesday that Egypt had adequate wheat stocks and had not changed the pace at which it was buying the grain.
Angola's much-delayed stock market will not open this year as many of the country's companies do not meet the requirements needed to participate on a bourse, the government said.
Ghana is still making preparations to launch a second Eurobond originally due in 2010, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor said on Tuesday, stressing that market conditions were not behind the delay.
Uganda's 2010 sugar production rose slightly on a year earlier but fell short of forecasts, hit by technical problems at the leading producer and poor rains, an industry association said on Tuesday.
German precious metals refinery group Heraeus reports massive demand for bars and coins, even as ETF trust funds and Comex futures contracts saw considerable profit-taking driven liquidations by institutional traders.
As Apple shares are plunging due to Steve Jobs' renewed health concerns, some Street analysts think it is a good buying opportunity to accumulate shares.
Manufacturing activity in the New York State expanded in January with the corresponding index posting its second consecutive positive reading.
The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Datalink, Sterling Bancshares, China XD Plastics and Ku6 Media. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Apple, Avago Technologies, Cypress Semiconductor, NVIDIA and ASML Holdings.
Gilts and short sterling futures slid on Tuesday after data showed UK consumer price inflation rose faster than forecast in December, fuelling concerns the Bank of England may be forced to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
The companies that reported earnings before the markets opened on Tuesday are: Citigroup, Forest Laboratories, Comerica, Delta Air Lines and TD Ameritrade.
The People’s Bank of China could hike interest rates in the first quarter of the year, an adviser to the central bank said on Tuesday.
China's key stock index closed up 0.1 percent, supported by a key technical level and better-than-expected earnings from two banks.
