BANGKOK – Asian stock markets mostly inched higher Tuesday after a round of corporate deals on Wall Street lifted sentiment following last week’s gyrations.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to 9,116.33 and Hong’s Hang Seng was 0.1 percent higher at 20,285.84.

South Korea’s market, which was closed for a holiday Monday, posted strong gains with the Kospi up 3.9 percent to 1,862.32. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia were also higher.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4 percent to 4,263.80 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent to 4,262.90.

Markets warmed to news that Google is buying wireless phone maker Motorola for $12.5 billion in cash. Time Warner Cable, Cargill and Transocean also announced acquisitions of more than $1 billion each. It was the busiest day for U.S. acquisitions since July 11.

For the third day in a row Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial rose, closing up 1.9 percent at 11,482.90. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.2 percent to 1,204.49.

The Dow rose or fell by at least 400 points on four straight days last week for the first time amid fears the U.S. economy could slide back into recession.

More swings could come this week. Leaders of France and Germany meet Tuesday to discuss Europe’s debt problems. Spain and other countries have borrowed so much that they may need help to repay their bills. Investors on Tuesday will get an update on how Spain’s economy did during the second quarter.

The euro dropped to $1.4428 from $1.4451 late Monday in New York. The dollar strengthened to 76.83 yen from 76.78 yen.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 38 cents at $87.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rallied for a third day on Monday as investors saw Google’s offer for Motorola Mobility as a signal to jump back in after weeks of sharp selling.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 213.88 points, or 1.90 percent, to end unofficially at 11,482.90. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 25.68 points, or 2.18 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,204.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 47.22 points, or 1.88 percent, to close unofficially at 2,555.20.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks pared gains and the Nasdaq briefly turned negative on Friday after a survey showed consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest point in more than three decades in early August.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 86.92 points, or 0.78 percent, to 11,230.23. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 6.52 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,179.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,496.88.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street resumed its slide on Friday, with the Nasdaq turning negative for the year, after China’s weaker trade data and disputes about a second Greece bailout hurt already fragile sentiment.

Bank stocks ranked among the top decliners. The Federal Reserve said it plans to expand the number of banks it will subject to annual tests used to determine if stock dividends can be increased and whether an institution is holding enough capital.

“It’s an incremental negative that makes it easier to be negative and sell any financial stocks right now,” said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles. “The financial stocks have been a big weight and an underperformer all year so the path of least resistance in the financials continues to be lower.”

The KBW regional banks index (.KRX) fell 1.9 percent and the S&P financial sector index (.GSPF) also lost 1.9 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite erased its gains for the year, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were on track for a sixth straight week of losses. A string of sub-par U.S. economic data in the past few weeks has turned investors away from equities.

China’s sales to the United States and the European Union slumped to their weakest since late 2009, excluding Lunar New Year holidays, underlining the view that the world economy is stumbling.

“Recent economic reports have been very weak and people are worried about the idea of a double-dip recession,” said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer of OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

“I am still expecting to see second-half growth, and the market pick back up as we see that,” Sampson said. “But are we going to see it before we get earnings reports for the second quarter? I doubt it. June is probably going to be pretty weak.”

In another negative for U.S. stocks, the euro tumbled more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar as fears over Greece’s debt returned to the forefront and investors curbed expectations about the European Central Bank’s interest-rate hikes. Investors have been recently trading the correlation between stocks and the dollar.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) lost 153 points, or 1.26 percent, to 11,971.36. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) fell 16.98 points, or 1.32 percent, to 1,272.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dropped 35.27 points, or 1.31 percent, to 2,649.60.

The S&P 500 has fallen more than 7 percent from its intraday peak early last month. Many see the benchmark index sliding back to around 1,250, its March low, where valuations could bring investors back into equities.

At 1,250 the S&P 500 would be roughly 2 percent below current levels and approaching a 10 percent decline commonly referred to as a correction.

The PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX) tumbled 1.7 percent, sinking to its lowest since early December. The SOX fell below its 200-day moving average for the first time since last October.

Ally Financial an auto and mortgage lender majority owned by the U.S. government, delayed a $6 billion initial public offering, further troubling investors worried about the poor performance of financial stocks during the market’s recent decline.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street resumed its slide on Friday, with the Nasdaq turning negative for the year, after China’s weaker trade data and disputes about a second Greece bailout hurt already fragile sentiment.

Bank stocks ranked among the top decliners. The Federal Reserve said it plans to expand the number of banks it will subject to annual tests used to determine if stock dividends can be increased and whether an institution is holding enough capital.

“It’s an incremental negative that makes it easier to be negative and sell any financial stocks right now,” said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles. “The financial stocks have been a big weight and an underperformer all year so the path of least resistance in the financials continues to be lower.”

The KBW regional banks index (.KRX) fell 1.9 percent and the S&P financial sector index (.GSPF) also lost 1.9 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite erased its gains for the year, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were on track for a sixth straight week of losses. A string of sub-par U.S. economic data in the past few weeks has turned investors away from equities.

China’s sales to the United States and the European Union slumped to their weakest since late 2009, excluding Lunar New Year holidays, underlining the view that the world economy is stumbling.

“Recent economic reports have been very weak and people are worried about the idea of a double-dip recession,” said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer of OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

“I am still expecting to see second-half growth, and the market pick back up as we see that,” Sampson said. “But are we going to see it before we get earnings reports for the second quarter? I doubt it. June is probably going to be pretty weak.”

In another negative for U.S. stocks, the euro tumbled more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar as fears over Greece’s debt returned to the forefront and investors curbed expectations about the European Central Bank’s interest-rate hikes. Investors have been recently trading the correlation between stocks and the dollar.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) lost 153 points, or 1.26 percent, to 11,971.36. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) fell 16.98 points, or 1.32 percent, to 1,272.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dropped 35.27 points, or 1.31 percent, to 2,649.60.

The S&P 500 has fallen more than 7 percent from its intraday peak early last month. Many see the benchmark index sliding back to around 1,250, its March low, where valuations could bring investors back into equities.

At 1,250 the S&P 500 would be roughly 2 percent below current levels and approaching a 10 percent decline commonly referred to as a correction.

The PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX) tumbled 1.7 percent, sinking to its lowest since early December. The SOX fell below its 200-day moving average for the first time since last October.

Ally Financial an auto and mortgage lender majority owned by the U.S. government, delayed a $6 billion initial public offering, further troubling investors worried about the poor performance of financial stocks during the market’s recent decline.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, with investors cautious before a long holiday weekend and economic data on pending home sales and consumer sentiment that could give the market direction.

This has been a choppy week for equities, with steep losses early offset by a rally in the past two days. The S&P 500 is down 0.6 percent for the week. Trading volume could be anemic on Friday ahead of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday.

The losses early in the week came on worries about euro-zone sovereign debt, as well as concerns that global demand was slowing. While there are few catalysts seen for strong positive advances, technical support suggests there is a floor for stocks.

The Group of Eight leaders agreed on Friday that the global economic recovery was becoming more “self-sustained,” though higher commodity prices were hampering further growth.

“Stocks are sitting on a well-balanced seesaw right now and there’s not much that will make us go one way or the other,” said Christian Wagner, chief executive officer at Longview Capital Management in Wilmington, Delaware.

“The G8 news was good, and we’re sitting on major support levels, but people are always cautious going into a long weekend.”

April pending home sales will be released at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). Economists see a 1 percent decline compared with a 5.1 percent increase in the previous month. The final May Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers is seen essentially holding steady from the preliminary May level.

Personal income and consumption data will be released earlier on Friday.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.8 point and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 4 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5 point.

EBay (EBAY.O) and its online payment unit, PayPal Inc, on Thursday sued Google Inc (GOOG.O) and two executives, claiming they stole trade secrets.

Google, MasterCard (MA.N), Citigroup (C.N), Sprint (S.N) and transaction processing company First Data unveiled a system that will allow shoppers to use mobile phones to pay for items at the checkout counter.

Macau casino operator MGM China raised $1.5 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering after pricing it at the top of its indicated range. The firm is co-owned by MGM Resorts International (MGM.N), shares of which rose 1 percent to $15.88 in light premarket trading.

The $7.1 billion merger of coal miners Massey Energy Co (MEE.N) and Alpha Natural Resources Inc (ANR.N) should be blocked or Massey’s board will avoid responsibility for their reckless management, a shareholder attorney told a court late Thursday.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

(This article has been modified to correct the reference to the previous sentiment figure in paragraph 7)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors will continue to ride the speediest rally in U.S. stocks since the Great Depression despite growing concerns that the market is overbought and due for a correction.

Wall Street posted its third consecutive week of gains with the S&P 500 now up 6.8 percent for the year and more than 20 percent in just six months.

“I’ve never seen a market like this,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont, a market watcher for 35 years.

“I’m showing, by every technical and quantitative standard I have, this market is at extreme levels. But no matter where we start out in the morning, buyers come in.”

The trend of stocks starting off lower in the morning session but ending higher by the afternoon has been ongoing for weeks as investors view the small dips as reasons to buy.

But there is a perceptible level of anxiety in the market. Trading volume has been exceptionally low recently and the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, is up on the week despite the gains in stocks.

The index is usually inversely correlated to the S&P 500, and a rise in the VIX typically means a drop in the stock market.

The VIX, which ended at 16.43, up 4.7 percent on the week, is still historically low but substantially higher than in recent months. That suggests investors see more share gyrations ahead.

The driving force behind the rally is the money that poured into riskier assets like stocks in the last quarter of 2010 after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low.

“With so much momentum in the market, we are likely to see some sideways consolidation next week but nothing more than that,” said Ryan Detrick, technical analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

LOW VOLUME=SIGNS OF FATIGUE

About 7.13 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq on Friday, below last year’s estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

Stocks have been struggling to match last year’s trading levels, hovering in the 7 billion range this week. On Thursday, the volume was the second-lowest of the year at 6.7 billion shares, and Monday’s session was the lowest of the year with a mere 6.6 billion shares.

“This is a sign that the market is tired, and unless we see an uptick in this volume,” the level of investor anxiety will not retreat, Detrick said.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

In U.S. economic data, investors will get a sense of the state of economic growth from fourth-quarter 2010 gross domestic product data on Friday.

A batch of housing related data is due, including S&P Case-Shiller home prices on Tuesday, existing homes sales on Wednesday and new homes sales on Thursday.

Major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Macy’s Inc (M.N), are expected to report their results next week. Of the 413 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 71 percent have exceed Wall Street estimates.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors will continue to ride the speediest rally in U.S. stocks since the Great Depression despite growing concerns that the market is overbought and due for a correction.

Wall Street posted its third consecutive week of gains with the S&P 500 now up 6.8 percent for the year and more than 20 percent in just six months.

“I’ve never seen a market like this,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont, a market watcher for 35 years.

“I’m showing, by every technical and quantitative standard I have, this market is at extreme levels. But no matter where we start out in the morning, buyers come in.”

The trend of stocks starting off lower in the morning session but ending higher by the afternoon has been ongoing for weeks as investors view the small dips as reasons to buy.

But there is a perceptible level of anxiety in the market. Trading volume has been exceptionally low recently and the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, is up on the week despite the gains in stocks.

The index is usually inversely correlated to the S&P 500, and a rise in the VIX typically means a drop in the stock market.

The VIX, which ended at 16.43, up 4.7 percent on the week, is still historically low but substantially higher than in recent months. That suggests investors see more share gyrations ahead.

The driving force behind the rally is the money that poured into riskier assets like stocks in the last quarter of 2010 after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low.

“With so much momentum in the market, we are likely to see some sideways consolidation next week but nothing more than that,” said Ryan Detrick, technical analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

LOW VOLUME=SIGNS OF FATIGUE

About 7.13 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq on Friday, below last year’s estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

Stocks have been struggling to match last year’s trading levels, hovering in the 7 billion range this week. On Thursday, the volume was the second-lowest of the year at 6.7 billion shares, and Monday’s session was the lowest of the year with a mere 6.6 billion shares.

“This is a sign that the market is tired, and unless we see an uptick in this volume,” the level of investor anxiety will not retreat, Detrick said.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

In U.S. economic data, investors will get a sense of the state of economic growth from fourth-quarter 2010 gross domestic product data on Friday.

A batch of housing related data is due, including S&P Case-Shiller home prices on Tuesday, existing homes sales on Wednesday and new homes sales on Thursday.

Major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Macy’s Inc (M.N), are expected to report their results next week. Of the 413 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 71 percent have exceed Wall Street estimates.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

LONDON – Violent clashes in Egypt between pro- and anti-government demonstrators kept sentiment in financial markets in check on Thursday, ahead of the monthly interest rate decision from the European Central Bank.

Traders are monitoring the situation in Cairo as the Egyptian army moves to end the violence after standing by this week as the two sides battled with rocks, sticks, bottles and firebombs.

Though the market impact of Egypt’s turmoil has diminished as the week progressed, it has fueled uncertainty.

That’s evident in the oil markets, where traders worry oil-producing countries could be affected. A barrel of Brent crude in London is now trading just shy of $103, while the benchmark New York equivalent is around $11 lower at $91.54. Both are trading at their highest levels since 2008.

Sebastian Barbe, an analyst at Credit Agricole, said the threat of regional contagion “remains significant” and noted the sharp increase in the cost of insuring against a Saudi Arabian default.

“Mubarak’s refusal to step down before the planned presidential election in September will likely fuel the protesters’ anger and the next few days are unlikely to see a moderation of the conflict,” Barbe said.

Against that backdrop, stocks have faltered.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.4 percent at 5,978 while Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 percent to 7,175. The CAC-40 underperformed its peers, trading 1.1 percent lower at 4,023.

Wall Street was also poised for a sluggish opening — Dow futures were up just 10 points at 11,995 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose less than a point to 1,300.40.

While keeping one eye on developments in Egypt, investors also have to monitor a heavy load of economic news this week, culminating in Friday’s monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for January.

In the U.S., the economic data will also include weekly jobless claims figures and the monthly services survey from the Institute for Supply Management. On the corporate side, Dow Chemical Co., MasterCard Inc., and Merck & Co. were among those scheduled to release quarterly financial results.

However, the main point of interest Thursday could be the monthly press conference from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. Though the bank is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1 percent, investors will be keen to see if Trichet warns about inflation risks.

Figures earlier this week showed that inflation in the 17 countries that use the euro climbed further in January to 2.4 percent. That’s above the central bank’s target of keeping inflation “close to, but below” 2 percent.

“Trichet is due to retire from the ECB at the end of October and he will likely want to secure his legacy as an inflation-vigilant central banker keen to preserve central bank independence,” said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital.

Ahead of the meeting, the euro was trading modestly lower following a recent rally to near three-month highs. Europe’s single currency has been buoyant since Trichet’s last post-meeting press conference, when he toughened up his rhetoric against inflation.

By late morning London time, the euro was trading 0.2 percent lower at $1.3777.

The euro has also been buoyed recently by hopes that EU policymakers have finally got a handle on a debt crisis that has already pushed Greece and Ireland into seeking bailouts.

There are hopes that a meeting of EU leaders Friday will provide confirmation of that view. The expectations are Germany is preparing to table a grand bargain that will see it pump in more cash into the eurozone’s more indebted economies in return for stricter budgetary controls.

“Although a detailed and comprehensive policy solution might have to wait until the coming months, the broad outline of a policy solution, including debt restructuring for some of the peripherals, is likely alongside German insistence on a framework of strict fiscal policy objectives for the EU economies,” VTB Capital’s MacKinnon said.

Earlier, trading in Asia was muted due to the Lunar New Year holidays with markets closed in South Korea, Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Nikkei 225 stock average closed 0.3 percent lower at 10,431.36 while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5 percent to 4,817.20. Australian insurers jumped amid relief that Cyclone Yasi — among the most powerful storms to ever hit the country — appeared to have caused less destruction along the northeast coast than anticipated. Both Insurance Australia Group Ltd. and Suncorp Group Ltd. rose 3 percent.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks declined on Thursday, led by technology losses as Cisco Systems Inc’s weak outlook fueled worries that economic softness will hurt corporate profits.

Cisco (CSCO.O) lost 16 percent to $20.57 after the Internet network product provider’s chief executive cautioned about “short-term challenges” in Europe and U.S. public-sector spending. Cisco forecast revenue and earnings below estimates late Wednesday.

Analysts saw the outlook as worrisome, particularly since profit growth for technology companies has outperformed the broader S&P 500 this earnings period and since Cisco’s report came about a month after other top tech names reported.

“This makes me incrementally concerned about the GDP growth outlook for the next year,” said Steve Neimeth, portfolio manager for SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City, New Jersey, which owns Cisco shares.

It also raises questions about the impact on profits from state and federal government cutbacks, he said, asking: “Is Cisco the canary in the coal mine?”

Cisco stock is on course to suffer its worst one-day percentage drop since July 14, 1994, when it slid 17.71 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

Cisco’s warning dragged down shares of other tech heavyweights. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) was down 1.3 percent at $26.60, and Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) dropped 3 percent at $42.85.

Cisco’s market value was reduced by about $21 billion in early trading, according to S&P.

By the end of the session, Cisco stock could wind up suffering its biggest one-day dollar loss ever, according to Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

By midafternoon, about 450 million shares had traded, making this one of the 10 busiest days ever for the stock.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 61.19 points, or 0.54 percent, at 11,295.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was down 4.12 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,214.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 20.60 points, or 0.80 percent, at 2,558.18.

The disappointing outlook came as the market’s recent rally lost steam. Tech shares have led that rally, with the S&P information tech index (.GSPT) up about 23 percent from the end of August through Wednesday’s close, compared with the S&P 500′s gain of about 16 percent in that same period.

The day’s decline has helped the market recover from an overbought condition, with the smoothed relative strength index (RSI) at about 63, off a recent high of 78.

Technical indicators showed that Cisco’s stock was oversold, but the moving average convergence-divergence (MACD) triggered a “sell” signal. Momentum dropped to its lowest in 2-1/2 months.

Thursday’s tumble took Cisco’s stock below its 14-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. The stock stayed above the year low, which could provide some technical support. On a closing basis, the year low stands at $19.99 on August 31.

The decline in Cisco erased much of the stock’s run-up as part of wider market rally that started in September.

Volume in Cisco’s shares soared in early trading. In the first half hour, nearly 200 million shares changed hands.

Cisco’s and the broader tech sector’s selloff pointed to the need for diversification, said Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management in Parsippany, New Jersey, which has about $300 million in assets under management.

“Investors should look to build more diversification in their portfolios, relying not just on normal bellwethers like tech,” Mahn said. “I’d recommend people look to places like small-caps, emerging markets and different kinds of bonds.”

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal and Jeffrey Benkoe)