Asian Stocks Rise a Fourth Day as Raw-Material Shares Lead Gains

Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark heading for its fourth straight daily gain, as raw-material and consumer shares led advances.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5 percent to 137.38 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan™s Topix index added 0.9 percent as the yen held last week™s losses versus the dollar and even as data showed industrial production unexpectedly fell 2.3 percent in February from January. A three percentage-point...

Japan Index Futures Signal Gains as Aussie Stocks Climb

Japanese and U.S. index futures climbed with Australian shares as the yen maintained declines versus major peers. Crude oil fell from a three-week high. Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures in the Osaka pre-market were bid 0.7 percent above their March 28 close in Japan, while contracts on the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index added 0.4 percent after the gauge snapped a two-day drop at...

U.S. Stocks Rise, Led by Consumers as Biotech Weighs on Nasdaq

U.S. stocks climbed after a two-day slide, as consumer shares rebounded amid data showing household purchases rose the most in three months. Biotechnology shares extended losses, weighing on the Nasdaq Composite Index.The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index added 0.5 percent to 1,857.55 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring an earlier gain of as much as 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 58.22 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,322.45.The afternoon...

European Stocks Rise as Euro-Area Confidence Data Beat Forecasts

European stocks advanced, extending a weekly gain, as a measure of euro-area economic confidence rose in March more than forecast and Italian banks rallied following a government-debt sale.Intesa Sanpaolo SpA added 3.5 percent as it forecast dividend payouts of about 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion) through 2017. Pirelli & C. SpA increased 3.2 percent after reporting 2013 earnings that surpassed analysts™ predictions. Resolution Ltd....

U.S. Stocks Rise as Tech, Consumer Shares Rally on Spending Data

U.S. stocks climbed after a two-day slide, as technology and consumer shares rebounded and data showed household purchases rose the most in three months. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. rallied 6 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on the stock. H&R Block Inc. and GameStop Corp. climbed at least 5.3 percent, leading gains among consumer shares. PG&E Corp. fell 2.7 percent after saying it expects to face...