HANG SENG INDEX

Hong Kong shares were higher by midday Thursday, mainly driven by several Chinese companies that reported forecast-beating interim earnings, magnifying the lift from Wall Street gains on encouraging U.S. economic data.

Hong Kong shares had edged lower by midday on Monday, giving up earlier gains, as investors sold shares of companies that reported weak or even forecast-meeting half-year results, underscoring weak risk appetite, with more volatility expected.

China shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell on Monday as investors hammered companies reporting weak or forecast-meeting results, while a late jump in HSBC helped the Hang Seng index offset some of those losses and end higher.

Shares of Macau casino operators slumped on Monday on worries of weakening demand from wealthy Chinese consumers, the main players in the world's largest gambling market, leading investors to sell stocks that have hit record highs in the past few months.

China Mobile Ltd , the world's biggest mobile operator, said on Friday it will set up a finance unit with 5 billion yuan ($780 million), in a move that could disappoint shareholders hoping for a dividend hike.

The global central bank community is uniting to put a halt to the current bout of financial volatility.

U.S. markets shed as much as two percent at the open Monday, on news of the S&P's U.S. debt rating downgrade and subsequent plummets in global markets overnight.

Moody's says a future downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA is possible. Also, global markets reacted harshly overnight to S&P's U.S. credit rating downgrade announced late Friday.

Global markets plummeted overnight night as news of the U.S. downgrade. Monday is the first day of trading in the U.S. and futures pointed sharply lower early by 6:30 a.m.

Japan's Nikkei stock average slid more than 2 percent on Monday as weak sentiment following Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States' credit rating was exacerbated by futures selling after Asian markets tumbled.

Stocks tumbled across the globe on Thursday amid growing worries about the U.S. economy and Europe's mounting debt problems, reviving fears of another deep recession.

The U.S. stock market had a mini-meltdown on Thursday ahead of Friday's all-important Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report as fears about the global economy slipping into another recession weighed on the sentiment.

Global financial markets reflected relief over the resolution of debt limit ceiling impasse in the U.S.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing near three-year highs, as upbeat earnings from major technology companies’ boosted sentiment for corporate-profit trends.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing near three-year highs, as upbeat earnings from major technology companies’ boosted sentiment for corporate-profit trends.

U.S. stock markets gained for the first time in four days on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected report on new home starts and encouraging quarterly results from Johnson & Johnson helped lift the markets.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, clawing back some of the previous day's losses as positive earnings news helped buoy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.16 points, or 0.53%, to finish near the day's highs at 12266.75. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 7.48 points, or 0.57%, to 1312.62 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 9.59 points, or 0.35%, to 2744.97. The gains came one day after the Dow fell 140 points on credit-ratings firm Standard & Poor's decision to lower its ...

US stocks ended sharply lower on Monday after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) revised its rating outlook on the United States to negative.

Investors retreated from stocks, oil and other risky assets as a worsening nuclear situation in Japan and a lackluster start to the U.S.'s corporate earnings season cast doubt over the global economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 117.53 points, or 0.95%, to 12263.58, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 10.30 points, or 0.78%, at 1314.16, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 26.72 points, or 0.96%, to 2744.79.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as Alcoa sales missed estimates and energy stocks declined as oil prices plunged more than 2 percent.

Asian shares fell Tuesday on selling prompted by Japan declaring its nuclear crisis a match for the Chernobyl disaster in severity and after the International Monetary Fund said global economic growth should slow this year as new risks emerge.