U.S. Stocks Erase Losses as Phone, Health-Care Shares Advance

U.S. stocks erased losses as gains in phone and health-care companies offset a slide in small-cap shares and data showing manufacturing expanded less than forecast. AT&T Inc. gained 1 percent. Weight Watchers International Inc. plunged 14 percent as the Russell 2000 Index lost 0.4 percent. Apple Inc. fell 1 percent to pace declines in technology shares. The S&P 500 rose...

Japanese Stock Indexes Fall on First Trading Day of New Year

Japanese stocks fell on the first trading day of the year, with investors returning after national holidays during which most overseas equity markets declined. The Topix retreated 0.6 percent to 1,399.44 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, after climbing 8.1 percent last year. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.7 percent to 17,330.30. The yen rose 0.1 percent to 120.41 per dollar. The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index has dropped 1.6 percent...

Asian Stocks Decline, Led by Japanese Shares as Trading Resumes

Asian stocks fell, led by a decline in Japanese shares as trading resumed after a three-day holiday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.4 percent to 137.44 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge slipped 2.5 percent in 2014, its first annual decline in three years, as commodity companies tumbled amid signs of slowing expansion in the region™s biggest economy. A Chinese factory index fell to an 18-month low in December, adding pressure...

Euro Extends Slide While Japan, U.S. Index Futures Slip With Oil

The euro slid to an almost a nine-year low against the dollar amid speculation European policy makers will undertake a concerted program of government-bond purchases to stoke growth. Japanese and U.S. index futures fell with Tokyo trade resuming after holidays, while oil and gold declined. The 18-nation currency sank 0.5 percent to $1.1948 by 8:51 a.m. in Tokyo, touching 1.1864, its weakest level since March 2006. The pound and Swiss ...