NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrial average appears poised to open higher after retail giant Wal-Mart posted healthy net income for the quarter.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of 30 companies in the Dow average, said Tuesday that net income rose 3 percent in the first quarter. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

Home Depot Inc. and Hewlett Packard Co., two other members of the Dow, also reported results Tuesday. Home Depot says net income jumped 12 percent in the first quarter. Hewlett Packard says profits rose in the most recent quarter, but it’s lowering its outlook for the rest of the year.

Dow futures are up 16, or 0.1 percent, to 12,525. S&P 500 futures are up 2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,328. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 1 to 2,335.

LONDON – The London Stock Exchange, which owns markets in Britain and Italy and is planning a merger with the owner of the Toronto bourse, reported a 70 percent rise in full year profits on Friday after a rise in new issues on the market.

The LSE posted net earnings of 151.6 million pounds ($246.7 million) for the year to March 31, up from 90.4 million pounds the previous year.

Revenue at the world’s fourth biggest stock exchange rose 1.7 percent to 615.9 million pounds from 605.6 million. Total income, including revenue from its CCP clearing business, rose 7.4 percent to 674.9 million pounds from 628.3 million pounds.

Chairman Chris Gibson-Smith said the group’s efforts to make up for a loss in its share of UK equities trading in recent years by diversifying the business are paying off.

“We have achieved much in the past year and the actions we have taken to ensure the group remains efficient, competitive and focused on developing growth opportunities mean we are in a strong position,” Gibson-Smith said.

Shares in the LSE rose 3.2 percent to 845 pence after the earnings release.

“We aim to develop the group further, with increasing international scale, together with extended reach and scope, to provide competitive services to global customers,” Gibson-Smith added. “This approach underpins the rationale for our proposed merger with the TMX Group.”

That planned deal to give the LSE control of the Toronto Stock Exchange, announced in February, remains under review by the Canadian government.

The all-share merger would result in listings in both Britain and Canada, but LSE will hold 55 percent of the new company and TMX will have 45 percent.

Politicians in Ontario and Quebec have raised concerns about the impact of having Canada’s major financial markets included in an international group headquartered in London and Toronto.

The LSE, which acquired Borsa Italiana two years ago, said in a separate statement on Friday that it and the TMX Group have filed applications with Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. The bourse did not provide details of the filings, saying that those authorities would publish the applications “according to their individual processes.”

The LSE said that new issues rose 68 percent to 185, with money raised more than trebling to 13.1 billion pounds. The current financial year has also started well, with 20 new issues in April. The indications for May are also good, the group said.

It added that overall trading on its derivatives platforms has increased, with the number of contracts up 19 percent year on year, while the UK equity order book trading declined by 10 percent in April, which it blamed on a series of public holidays that month.

The bourse recently rolled out Millennium Exchange, its new high-performance trading system, on its pan-European Turquoise trading platform and the U.K. equities markets.

Derivatives trading was launched on Turquoise in the spring, following integration with the group’s London-based EDX derivatives exchange. FTSE 100 Index Futures is due to begin trading in June 2011.

The move to swifter technology is critical for the London exchange to compete with newer rivals such as Chi-X Europe and Bats Europe, but progress has not come without difficulties. The LSE blamed a two-hour disruption to Turquoise in November on a “suspicious glitch.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks pared gains on Thursday after data showed the pace of factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell far more than expected in April.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 2.35 points, or 0.02 percent, to 12,455.89. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) gained 3.12 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,333.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 8.36 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,810.87.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

SINGAPORE – Asian stocks fell Thursday amid concerns that rising food and fuel costs could undermine consumer demand, hurting economic growth and company profits.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent to 9,583.86 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.4 percent to 2,114.38. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.8 percent to 23,943.98, while China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 3,053.36.

Asian investors were also eyeing mixed signals on U.S. economic growth. While the unemployment rate has dropped this year as the economy creates more jobs, exports in February were weaker than expected.

“While softness in U.S. growth is a concern, the real issue for investors is the second-round effects of high and rising commodity prices,” said Clive McDonnell of BNP Paribas in Singapore. “For Asia in particular, margins in the consumer sectors are at risk as we pass the sweet spot of rising commodity and equity prices.”

Oil prices hovered above $107 a barrel in Asia as a large drop in U.S. gasoline supplies suggested the two-month crude rally hasn’t yet significantly undermined consumer demand.

U.S. stocks were little changed Wednesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.25 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,314.41. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.41, or 0.1 percent, to 12,270.99. The Nasdaq composite gained 16.73, or 0.6 percent, to 2,761.52.

Elsewhere in Asia, Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 was down 0.9 percent at 4,867.10.

Singapore’s Straits Times index slumped 0.3 percent to 3,161.73 after the central bank said Thursday it would allow the currency to strengthen in a bid to slow inflation. Singapore also reported that the economy grew a seasonally adjusted annualized 24 percent in the first quarter.

The dollar fell slightly to 83.48 yen from 83.82 in New York late Wednesday, while the euro was up slightly at $1.4447 from $1.4441.

NEW YORK – Stocks are rising at the opening of trading after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s earnings beat expectations and a report showed shoppers spent more for the ninth straight month.

JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday was the first big bank to report first-quarter results. Net income jumped 67 percent to $5.56 billion, or $1.28 per share. Analysts expected just $1.15 in earnings per share.

Retail sales rose 0.4 percent in March from February, the ninth consecutive gain. Much of the increase went to higher gasoline costs.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 53 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,317. The S&P 500 is up 5, or 0.4 percent, to 1,320. The Nasdaq composite is up 17, or 0.6 percent, to 2,761.

BANGKOK – World shares rose Friday after Wall Street advanced on news of an improving U.S. job market and higher corporate earnings, although an ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan and Western military action in OPEC-member Libya suggested an uneasy road ahead.

European shares rose on the heels of Asian gains. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 5,899.11. Germany’s DAX was 0.5 percent up to 6,966.42, and France’s CAC-40 rose narrowly to 3,971.13. The dollar was up against the yen and the euro. Shares in New York were also headed higher ahead of the opening bell.

Futures augured gains on Wall Street. Dow Jones industrial futures were up 0.3 percent to 12,151 and S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent to 1,209.40.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed up 1.1 percent to 9,536.13 with automakers rising following recent steep losses that resulted from a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. The disaster killed at least 18,000 people and all but wiped out the country’s northeastern coast, home to a crucial network of auto parts suppliers and plants.

Nissan Motor Co., which lost nearly 5 percent Thursday after saying it may move some engine production to the U.S. because of earthquake damage to a Japanese plant, was up 1.5 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, rose 1.9 percent after being pummeled in prior trading sessions.

Investors pushed up several construction-linked shares, expecting those companies to benefit once Japan begins rebuilding. Komatsu Ltd. rose 4.7 percent a day after announcing that production was resuming in quake-affected areas. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. was up 2.3 percent.

Consumer electronics companies also clawed back recent losses with Sony Corp. up 3.3 percent, and Panasonic Corp. up 1.8 percent.

Analysts believe that a coordinated currency intervention earlier this month by the world’s top seven industrialized nations aided Japan’s exporters by keeping the yen stable.

“There’s been a strong rebound in markets after a very savage sell-off after the disasters in Japan,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne.

Markets were reassured by the central bank intervention that stabilized the yen, he said. The yen hit a record high against the dollar in the days following the quake.

“A level of confidence has been maintained in financial markets during an extremely volatile time,” Schroeders said.

Still, Japan continued to grapple with an avalanche of post-quake miseries, including its ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Two weeks after the disaster, officials were still struggling to stop radiation leaks that have already contaminated the air, the sea, food and even Tokyo tap water.

While a complete nuclear meltdown was avoided, Japanese companies still face a myriad of challenges in resuming normal output: rolling electricity blackouts, the possibility of aftershocks, anxiety over elevated levels of radiation, and restrictions on Japanese food products from the region affected by radiation. The Nikkei has lost 7 percent since the quake.

“Given the host of unprecedented issues, including ongoing nuclear plant problems, a power shortfall, and supply chain bottlenecks, we think the market will continue to be highly volatile,” said Citigroup Global Markets said in a report.

Elsewhere, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent to 23,158.67 and South Korea’s Kospi moved 0.9 percent higher to 2,054.04, with investors snapping up high-tech shares. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. jumped 3.4 percent, Hynix Semiconductor Inc. was up 2.8 percent, and LG Electronics rose 1 percent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9 percent to 4,742.60. Among gainers were mining giants Rio Tinto Ltd., up 0.5 percent., and BHP Billiton Ltd., up 0.1 percent after it announced a nearly $10 billion expansion to its iron ore and coal operations.

On Wall Street late Thursday, stronger corporate earnings and signs of a stronger job market lifted stocks. The U.S. government said fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, evidence that layoffs are slowing. The average number of unemployment filings over the last four weeks has dropped to its lowest level since July 2008.

Software company Red Hat Inc., chip maker Micron Technology Inc. and Chef Boyardee maker ConAgra Foods Inc. all reported profits that beat expectations. Earnings growth has been strong across U.S. companies, which are benefiting from lower costs and higher revenue overseas.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.54 points to close at 12,170.56. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.12 to 1,309.66. The Nasdaq composite index rose 38.12 points to 2,736.42.

Oil prices were up 10 cents to $105.70 a barrel as upheaval in the Middle East and signs of strong global demand kept crude near two-year highs. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 15 cents to settle at $105.60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

Crude prices have jumped 25 percent since anti-government protests in Libya that began last month shut down most of the OPEC nation’s crude output. Western-backed military operations have pounded Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi’s forces to prevent them from attacking civilians, but rebels have so far been unable to mount an offensive to overthrow the regime.

In currencies, the euro dropped to $1.4148 from $1.4183 late Thursday. The dollar edged up to 81.19 yen from 80.95 yen.