PARIS – Another set of solid Italian bond auctions on Friday helped sustain the recent optimism in the markets that Europe’s debt crisis has calmed down somewhat, though investors think there’s still a long way before the situation stabilizes. Surprisingly strong bond auctions in Spain and Italy on Thursday reinforced hopes that policymakers may finally be getting a grip on Europe’s debt crisis after months of procrastination and indecision. With the borrowing rates …

NEW YORK – The stock market ended a tumultuous year right where it started. In the final tally, despite big climbs and falls, unexpected blows and surprising triumphs, all the hullabaloo proved for naught. On Friday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at 1,257.60. That’s exactly 0.04 point below where it started the year. “If you fell asleep January 1 and woke up today, you’d think nothing had happened,” says Jack Ablin, …

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a modestly lower open on Tuesday as investors found little reason to continue buying in what was expected to be a light-volume session following recent gains. The S&P 500 has risen for four straight sessions and turned positive for the year on Friday, with improving economic data helping to boost equities last week. The gains, which lifted the benchmark index above its 200-day moving …

BANGKOK – Asian stock markets were mixed in holiday-thinned trading Monday after weak U.S. indicators dulled optimism about prospects for the world’s biggest economy. Several markets were closed including Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand. Oil traders were also on holiday. Wall Street and European stock markets are closed Monday because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index finished up 1 percent at 8,479.34 after …

NEW YORK – Europe’s fiscal pact may save the euro from collapse and stave off worldwide financial panic. But the concerns of many investors are more personal: Will it lift my flagging 401(k)? The answer from the stock market on Friday was hopeful. As a summit of European leaders concluded with an agreement to deal with their debt crisis, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.7 percent, capping a second straight week …

NEW YORK – Stock futures are trading mixed, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 249 points as a congressional committee failed to reach a deal to cut budget deficits. Less than two hours before the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 4 points to 11,529. S&P 500 index futures are up 2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,193. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 4, or 0.2 percent, to …

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares fell to a sixteen-month reduced and rising market currencies tumbled on Friday amid fears of a international recession, but a pledge from the G20 to maintain economic stability assisted stem the scale of losses. Equity markets pulled back again from the depths of their slump and the euro gained soon after a assertion committed the Group of 20 significant economies to “get all required actions” and explained central …

Stocks tumbled Friday on news that the U.S. economic climate added no new employment previous month. The employment report was the weakest in practically a year. It renewed fears that the U.S. may well slip back into economic downturn. Treasury yields fell and gold rose as traders piled into investments witnessed as a lot less risky than stocks. The Dow Jones industrial regular was down 193 points, or one.7 %, to 11,299 at …

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow briefly turned greater and the S&ampP 500 and Nasdaq pared losses before reversing training course and heading decrease once more on Tuesday after remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on euro zone proposals. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 45.22 factors, or .39 %, at eleven,437.68. The Standard &amp Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was down six.47 factors, or .54 percent, at 1,198.02. The Nasdaq Composite …

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures rose on Monday, feeding bullish hopes that the modern selling would ebb soon after very last week’s wild swings took the S&ampP 500 in the vicinity of a 1-12 months lower. S&ampP 500 futures rose 5.6 factors and had been over honest worth, a method that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest charges, dividends and time to expiration of the agreement. Dow Jones industrial regular …