By Ryan Vlastelica Ryan Vlastelica – Mon Nov 1, 4:51 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors were reluctant to make big bets ahead of two events that could dictate the stock market’s direction for the rest of the year and beyond, leaving shares little changed on Monday.

The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 12.9 percent since the start of September on hopes for Republican gains in Tuesday’s elections and a Federal Reserve announcement of monetary easing on Wednesday. With those events imminent, trading volume was light and a 1 percent early rally was erased as investors turned cautious.

About 7.105 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below the year-to-date daily average of 8.73 billion. The CBOE Volatility index (.VIX), the market’s favorite anxiety gauge, rose for the sixth straight day, a sign investors were boosting bets on further gyrations in the near term.

“We had a handful of positive macroeconomic data points, which contributed to the better tone in markets today, but the lack of follow-through underscores that Republican gains and an expansion of the Fed balance sheet are expected,” said Barry Knapp, managing director of equity research at Barclays Capital in New York.

U.S. factory activity in October expanded and construction spending rose unexpectedly in September, reports showed. Other data showed manufacturing in China expanded at the fastest pace in six months in October.

Oil service stocks were among the leaders after Baker Hughes Inc (BHI.N) reported a third-quarter profit that beat expectations. The stock rose 5.2 percent to $48.73 while the Oil Service sector (.OSX) was up 0.7 percent.

M&T Bank Corp (MTB.N) rose 4.5 percent to $78.12 after news it would buy Wilmington Trust Corp (WL.N) in a deal worth $351 million. Shares of Wilmington fell 42.5 percent to $4.09 and weighed on regional banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 6.13 points, or 0.06 percent, at 11,124.62. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was up 1.12 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,184.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 2.57 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,504.84.

If the election ends in the Republican Party taking control of the House, as polls indicate, the Obama administration’s ability to enact its agenda would be in jeopardy. Among the main Obama-backed laws recently enacted were overhauling healthcare and financial regulation.

Traders said the energy sector could flourish after Republican gains as there will be less chance of increased regulation.

The Fed is expected to announce on Wednesday it will relaunch heavy bond buying to stimulate an anemic economy. Most analysts expect the size and the scope of asset purchases to be about $100 billion a month, starting with a plan to buy $500 billion in bonds between now and early 2011.

“If things don’t come out as expected, there could be significant downside because there’s so little liquidity in the markets,” said Mike Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of Holland & Co in New York. “Investors have priced in certain expected benefits from the Fed and elections, and what markets are squaring away now are any possible surprises.”

On the Dow, Caterpillar (CAT.N) rose 0.9 percent to $79.27 while Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) climbed 0.7 percent to $66.95.

Weighing on the Nasdaq was Amazon.com (AMZN.O), down 1.6 percent at $162.62. The stock fell 2.3 percent last week but was up 32 percent from the beginning of September through the end of October.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) fell 0.6 percent to $37.42 after ProPublica, an investigative journalism website, said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether the bank adequately disclosed that a hedge fund helped select assets for a $1.1 billion package of subprime mortgages while also betting against portions of the deal.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 15 to 14, while on the Nasdaq, about 12 stocks fell for every seven that fell.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

By PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer Pan Pylas, Ap Business Writer – Fri Oct 22, 12:02 pm ET

LONDON – World stocks were steady Friday as investors waited to see if finance ministers from the leading 20 industrialized and developing countries will be able to calm tensions in the currency markets during a meeting in South Korea.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX was closed down 0.1 percent at 6,605.84 while the CAC-40 in France ended down 0.3 percent at 3,867.87. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.3 percent, at 5,738.97.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.1 percent at 11,133.47 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.2 percent to 1,182.03.

Stocks have been buoyed much of this week by a run of positive U.S. corporate earnings statements from the likes of Boeing, McDonald’s and Goldman Sachs, as well as continuing expectations that the Federal Reserve will be pumping more money into the U.S. economy after its next policy meeting on November 3.

“Right now traders appear to be pausing for breath,” said Anthony Grech, head of research at IG Index. “With little fundamental data due for release today, the temptation is probably to start unwinding some risk ahead of the weekend break.”

The focus Friday is on the G-20 meeting in South Korea to see if ministers can make progress in resolving tensions over undervalued currencies that give some nations an unfair advantage in export markets. Over recent weeks, the euro has surged against the dollar to multi-month highs above $1.40 while the Bank of Japan has intervened to stem the yen’s export-sapping rise.

China in particular is under renewed pressure over its management of the yuan, which the U.S., the European Union and Japan say is kept artificially low.

A proposal by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for emerging nations to set targets to reduce their vast trade surpluses with the West met with immediate resistance.

According to officials at the summit, Geithner’s idea is to establish numerical targets for current account balances, be they surpluses or deficits — aiming to reduce conflicts over exchange rates by allowing the currencies of trade surplus countries to rise in concert.

Investors remain skeptical that a ‘grand bargain’ will be achieved.

“Don’t expect too much from the G-20 meeting beyond concerns over avoiding excessive volatility and disorderly price action,” said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital.
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Ahead of the meeting, the euro was trading at $1.3917 while the dollar was at 81.44 yen, having fallen Thursday to a fresh 15-year low of 80.93 yen.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index gained 50.23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 9,426.71 and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2 percent to 1,897.31.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6 percent to 4,648.20 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.7 percent to 23,480.81.

Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.3 percent to 2,975.04.

Benchmark oil for December delivery was up 59 cents at $82.42 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

____

Associated Press Writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

By Edward Krudy Edward Krudy – Thu Oct 21, 4:26 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street edged higher in a volatile session on Thursday, torn between strong corporate earnings and a surge in the U.S. dollar.

The market swung in a wide range throughout the day as investors reacted to gyrations in the currency markets and as relatively strong earnings took a back seat.

But by the end of the session, the fundamental picture seemed to win out. The Dow rose, helped by McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) and Travelers Cos Inc (TRV.N), both of which hit 52-week highs after stronger-than-expected results.

“Companies are continuing to show that they are continuing to make money in a low nominal GDP environment and that they are very good at it and they can continue to do so,” said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING.

Investors have been trading the dollar and equities against each other recently as expectations the Federal Reserve will pump billions into the economy have pressured the greenback while lifting stocks.

Commodity-linked stocks have been among the most sensitive to the trade. Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) fell 2.7 percent to $78.80 while the S&P energy index (.GSPE) edged lower as oil dropped more than 2 percent to under $81 per barrel.

“The trade has been: Weak dollar is good for commodities and is good for any risk-related assets like equities. On dollar weakness, buy those things; on dollar strength, get out of those things,” said Bill Strazzullo, partner and chief investment strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston.

The euro and the popularly traded S&P E-mini futures contract have tracked each other closely in the last month. In the past 22 sessions, they have had a positive correlation coefficient of 0.89.

The euro had earlier climbed to a high around $1.4050 but later was trading down 0.3 percent to $1.3920.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 38.60 points, or 0.35 percent, to 11,146.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) gained 2.09 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,180.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 2.28 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,459.67.

Banking stocks were weak as investors continued to wrestle with confusion in the mortgage market and the chance Bank of America (BAC.N) might have to buy back mortgages bonds. The stock fell 3.3 percent to $11.36 and has lost nearly 16 percent over the last 7 days.
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“People have been talking about Bank of America for the last few days, and they’re going to continue to talk about bank of America until they get better direction from management,” said Weston Boone, vice president listed trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets.

McDonald’s gained 1.3 percent to $78.44 after it beat expectations for quarterly profit and same-store sales growth in September.

Travelers gained 0.6 percent to $54.98 after the largest publicly traded U.S. property casualty insurer easily beat estimates as premiums rose in its personal insurance lines.

Stocks rose nearly 1 percent earlier but the gains were trimmed by afternoon trade as the U.S. dollar (.DXY) gained ground. The dollar was up 0.4 percent against major currencies, while the euro fell 0.3 percent.

Online auctioneer eBay (EBAY.O) rose 6 percent to $27.19 and Netflix (NFLX.O), the movie rental and streaming service, jumped 12.8 percent to $172.69 after both reported upbeat results late Wednesday.

Home Depot Inc (HD.N) rose 3.5 percent to $31.81. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its “buy” rating on the stock, citing attractive valuations after a meeting with company executives.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

– Wed Oct 20, 6:25 am ET

LONDON (AFP) – Global stock markets were mixed on Wednesday amid concern of economic slowdown in China where interest rates have been increased for the first time for three years.

In Europe, Britain’s government is to unveil the harshest cuts for decades in a sweeping review of public spending expected to trigger half a million job losses as it tackles a record deficit.

In France, attention was focused on continuing strike action and disruptions in protests against a pension reform, but the government says it will push ahead.

European stock markets edged higher, overturning opening losses, after sharp losses in Tokyo and overnight on Wall Street. China closed higher.

“We expect negative sentiment to remain in the short run, weighing on risk assets globally, as global markets are very sensitive to slowdown risk in the country that led the world out of recession,” Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank said in a note to clients.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.13 percent to 5,711.21 points in late morning trade. Frankfurt gained 0.19 percent and Paris nudged up 0.04 percent.

Tokyo tumbled on Wednesday to close down 1.65 percent and Hong Kong slipped 0.87 percent. Shanghai edged up 2.10 points as the negative impact of the hike faded, with some analysts saying traders may not see too much of an overall impact.

In foreign exchange trading, the euro rose to 1.3821 dollars from 1.3726 dollars late on Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell to 81.39 yen from 81.54 yen on Tuesday.

However analysts said China’s move should provide some support for the dollar after a bout of pressure.

“Yesterday?s surprise move by China to raise its one year lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points was just the catalyst the US dollar needed to help alleviate the downside pressure that it has been under over the past few weeks,” said Michael Hewson, a market analyst at traders CMC Markets.

The People’s Bank of China announced late on Tuesday it would raise the benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points each, as Beijing tries to contain inflation and soaring property prices. It was the first rate rise since December 2007.

The move was the latest by the government aimed at winding down huge stimulus measures introduced last year as Beijing tried to guide the country through the downturn.

In contrast, analysts expect the Federal Reserve to launch fresh US stimulus measures as the world’s biggest economy struggles to recover from recession. Markets also increasingly expect the Bank of England to aid Britain’s recovery by pumping out billions of pounds of fresh money, especially after its governor Mervyn King said policymakers had a “potent weapon” to support growth.

The central bank chief warned on Tuesday that there was too little money in the economy, fuelling hopes of further quantitative easing.

The extent of Britain’s recovery is likely to be largely determined by how the country absorbs the government’s massive spending cuts.

Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition wants to cut spending by 83 billion pounds (130 billion dollars, 95 billion euros) by 2014-15, and the review will reveal exactly where the axe will fall.

– Wed Oct 13, 12:19 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) – London’s stock market closed higher at the end of trade on Wednesday, buoyed after the US Federal Reserve said it may provide more economic stimulus measures.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 1.51 percent to close at 5,747.35 points.

Barclays bank was the most traded stock, seeing 133 million shares switch owners, followed by Lloyds, which saw 132 million units change hands.

Mining firms were the big winners of the day. Vedanta Resources was the top blue-chip performer, adding 131 pence — or 5.91 percent — to end at 2347, followed by fellow miner Anglo American, which rose 147.5 pence — or 5.39 percent — to end at 2884.

Fashion label Burberry was the biggest casualty, shedding 31 pence — or 2.98 percent — to end at 1,008, followed by medical equipment group Smith and Nephew, which was down 14 pence — or 2.46 percent — to end at 555.

Meanwhile, the pound was up against the dollar but down against the euro.

At 17:05 BST, sterling was trading at 1,5840 dollars, up from 1.5805 dollars at the same time on Tuesday, while the currency stood at 1.1346 euros, slipping from 1.1400 euros over the same period.