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Stocks were little changed on Friday, reversing earlier gains after Facebook Inc (FB.O) stumbled in its market debut after a delayed opening. Shares of the social networking giant were volatile in early trading, falling to near breakeven levels after early gains of more than 10 percent. In early trading it was the Nasdaq's most actively traded stock, with more than 100 million shares traded in the first five minutes of trading. After a delay in the opening print that drove up anxiety levels among traders and onlookers outside the Nasdaq, the company's closely watched stock began trading at $42.05, compared with an IPO price of $38. It rose as high as $45 before pulling back. The Nasdaq said it was investigating an issue in delivering trade execution messages from the IPO cross in ...

Investors sold European shares and the euro on Tuesday, unnerved by the political stalemate in Greece and the threat of a Franco-German split over policies to tackle the region's debt crisis. The uncertainty in Europe added to worries about global growth after weak American jobs data, sending industrial commodities like oil and copper lower. U.S. shares were also expected to open down on Wall Street. .N While markets were in a risk averse mood, activity was less volatile than on Monday when European shares initially fell sharply in reaction to the weekend's election results before firming after Spain said it was prepared to use public funds to help its troubled banks. Spain is the euro zone's fourth largest economy and investors have focused on its troubles because it would be expensive ...

(Reuters) - Investors sold European shares and the euro on Tuesday, unnerved by the political stalemate in Greece and the threat of a Franco-German split over policies to tackle the region's debt crisis. However, markets were less volatile than on Monday when shares initially sold-off in reaction to the weekend's election results before ending the day higher, soothed by news that Spain was prepared to use public funds to help its troubled banks. Spain is the euro zone's fourth largest economy and investors have focused on its troubles because it would be expensive to provide a bailout similar to the one supporting the much smaller Greek economy. Greek voters punished the two mainstream parties in Sunday's vote for supporting the austerity conditions of the financial package and now the ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The U.S. labor-market report will further erode investor confidence" - Markus Allenspach, head of bond research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. European stocks extended weekly losses, after a report showed U.S. companies added fewer jobs than expected in April. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased 1.76 per cent to 253.00. Germany’s DAX Index tumbled 1.99 per cent and France’s CAC 40 Index contracted 1.90 per cent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index lost 1.93 per cent to 5,655.06. USD "We’re still very much on the recovery path, but we’ve got a huge amount of ground to make up in the labor market" - Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. The number of Americans, who have found a job in the private sector in April, tumbled to 115,000 from 154,000 the ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "We fear things are likely to get worse before they get better" - Martin van Vliet, a senior euro-region economist at ING Bank Spain sank into recession in the first quarter of 2012. The economy contracted 0.3 per cent, after shrinking by the same amount in the previous quarter, Madrid-based National Statistics Institute data showed on Monday. USD "What was encouraging was that the income numbers improved. Our expectation is that job growth does increase gradually" - Peter Newland, an economist at Barclays Capital Inc. U.S. consumer spending was boosted by higher than expected incomes, said the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Monday. Household purchases increased 0.3 per cent. Incomes gained 0.4 per cent, the most in three months. GBP "This is year three of a ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil futures gave back most early gains on Wednesday, as weak U.S. economic data stoked fresh oil demand worries. Brent rose in early trade bouncing back from a recent price slump, as investors grew less worried about the euro zone on news of strong investor demand for Spanish bonds. But despite solid demand for the bonds, investors remained skeptical about Spain's fiscal outlook. Crude futures fell after economic data showed jobless claims dipped less than expected, while existing home sales fell unexpectedly and mid-Atlantic factory activity slipped. "The jobless claims numbers as well as housing sales data were not supportive, adding to yesterday's bearish data on the U.S. crude stock build," said Kyle Cooper, managing partner at IAF Advisors in ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The debt crisis is far from over still and I think Spain will be worse before it gets better" - Henrik Drusebjerg, a senior equity strategist at Nordea Bank AB The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro zone swung a deficit of €1.3 billion in February from a surplus of €3.7 billion in January, said the European Central Bank on Wednesday. USD "We got used to companies beating estimates by a pretty good margin" - Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial Corp. U.S. stocks fell after Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. disappointed market participants with their quarterly results. GBP "… the monetary policy committee is likely to remain on hold on the stock of asset purchases at its May meeting" - Mauro Giorgio Marrano, an ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The outlook for the industrial sector is bleak" - Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Group Euro-area industrial production unexpectedly rose in February, even as the region’s economy continued to slide into a recession. Production increased 0.5 per cent from January, said the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg on Thursday. USD "Import prices were certainly a problem for businesses in the last three months, but we’ve seen those pressures ease" - Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits rose to 380 thousand in the week ended April 7 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday. GBP "Concern persists that U.K. exports will be limited in the near ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The ECB should be preparing itself" for "the return of significant financial market tensions" - Silvio Peruzzo, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Spanish "market conditions are not justified," said ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure on Wednesday. "Will the ECB intervene? We have an instrument, the securities markets program, which hasn’t been used recently but it still exists." USD "Import prices were certainly a problem for businesses in the last three months, but we’ve seen those pressures ease" - Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC U.S. import prices increased more than expected in March, 1.3 per cent, reflecting higher fuel costs, the Labor Department said Wednesday. GBP "The unusually warm weather in ...