Countdown to the close: 59 min 59 sec

INVESTOR ALERT
Global stocks in rally mode

November 2 2008 9:06 P.M. EST

Seoul, Sydney stocks gain
South Korea extends its  advances on U.S. finish, while Australian shares rise on hope central bank will cut interest rates Tuesday. Japanese markets closed for holiday.
•  For business news in Chinese, See Chinese.wsj.com
 
INDIA
 Surprise rate cut
 Citing easing risk of inflation, central bank orders half-point cut in key interest rate, also reduces bank reserve requirements. Rate move follows full-point cut on Oct. 20.
 
Japanese manufacturers
Panasonic in talks to buy Sanyo
 Japanese electronics giant may buy majority in rival via share buys from Goldman Sachs, Daiwa and Sumitomo Mitsui, reports say.
•  Sony says 100,000 laptop battery packs recalled
 
currencies
Dollar's gain helps, hurts
Imports get cheaper as the dollar rises, but the greenback's appreciation is hurting U.S. exporters when they can least afford it.
• Echoes of 1998 Russia default and more
 THE WEEK AHEAD IN ASIA
Earnings outlook glum    
  
Toyota may report as much as a 50% decline in profit because of the global auto sales slump, while Lenovo is expected to report huge reductions in U.S. computer sales, reports Michael Kitchen.
•  Toyota expands in India    
 
China
Hong Kong braces for downturn
With virtually all its eggs in the financial and real-estate baskets, beleaguered Hong Kong may need to turn to mainland China for help, writes Craig Stephen.
 

Latest News more » Top Stories more » Market Pulse more » Headlines more » Press Releases more »

  • 9:04 p.m.

    Hong Kong H share index soar 7% to 7,074.02 in early minutes

  • 9:04 p.m.

    Hang Seng Index jumps 5.5% to 14,733.72 in early minutes

  • 7:23 p.m.

    South Korea's Kospi rises 1% to 1,123.60 in early minutes

  • 6:59 p.m.

    New Zealand's NZX 50 index gains 0.4% to 2,830.97

  • 6:59 p.m.

    Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rises 2.6% to 4,123.10

  • 5:10 p.m.

    [HIG] Fitch cuts Hartford Financial's issuer default rating to 'A'

  • 4:33 p.m.

    [DAL] Hank Halter named Delta's chief financial officer

  • 4:33 p.m.

    [DAL] Steve Gorman named Delta's chief operating officer

  • 4:27 p.m.

    [FNF] Fidelity National gets $58 mln from The Reserve Primary Fund

  • 4:15 p.m.

    [COMP] Nasdaq Composite down 17.7% in October, worst since 2001

  • 4:14 p.m.

    [SPX] S&P 500 index down 16.9% for October, worst month since 1987

  • 4:11 p.m.

    [COMP] Nasdaq Composite rises 22.43 points to 1,720.95

  • 4:11 p.m.

    [SPX] S&P 500 gains 14.67 points to 968.76

  • 4:11 p.m.

    [BA] ICO Global: Boeing hit with $236 mln punitive damage verdict

  • 4:11 p.m.

    [INDU] Dow industrials down 14.1% in October, worst since Oct. 1987

  • 4:11 p.m.

    [INDU] Dow Jones Industrial Average up 144.32 points to 9,325.01

  • 4:10 p.m.

    Argentina's Merval prelim close up 4%; down 37% in October

  • 4:08 p.m.

    Mexico's IPC prelim close 0.6%; down 18% in October

  • 4:08 p.m.

    [COMP] Nasdaq Composite climbs 10.9% from last Friday's close

  • 4:07 p.m.

    Brazil's Bovespa prelim close 1.3%; down 25% for October

 
Today inside MarketWatch
IN PERSONAL FINANCE
Chuck Jaffe
 IRA fix is broken 
from the start  
IRA tax proposals currently swirling around Washington are impractical, likely to be unfair and are more a last-minute political football than a real solution.
 

Also in Personal Finance:
 • Four rules for an unforgiving market
• No one's safe from contraction
 • IRS: $266 million has gone unclaimed
• Funds that hoard cash can trash goals

   IN COMMENTARY
MEDIA WEB
 The man who beat media to Palin story
Time reporter was in right place at right time for Palin scoop, writes Jon Friedman. 
• Portfolio a victim of corporate cutbacks
 

Also in Commentary :
 • Consumers crunched (Minyanville)

   IN NEWSLETTERS
mark Hulbert
 Deflating prospect
Deflation more likely than many assume; gold market may be sensing its onset.
 

More in Newsletters :
 • Brimelow says Maui editor wows 'em
• Gurus say: Go to ground

   IN MULTIMEDIA
Transport
California votes on
high-speed rail
MarketWatch's Stacey Delo reports on California's Prop. 1A, a bond issue to develop high-speed rail system.
Also in Multimedia :
 • Tupperware-style gold parties  
• Buying a computer on the cheap
U.S. MARKET OUTLOOK
 Split focus  
Investors will be closely watching results of Tuesday's national elections, and what's expected to be grim jobs and manufacturing data, reports Stacey Delo.
• Stocks to watch | Monday preview   Audio | Hoping the worst is over
• Job losses expected to be worst since March 2003
• Daily swings meaningless, Hulbert says   Audio  
• 17th bank failure of 2008: Freedom Bank of Bradenton, Fla.
• Boeing machinists ratify contract, will end strike
 • Abu Dhabi investing another quarter-billion dollars in Hollywood
 
European OUTLOOK
Waiting for rate cuts  
Interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, plus a raft of earnings reports, are on tap.
• German fund woes may doom U.K. real estate
• Deutsche Bank CEO repeats: Won't tap government rescue fund
 
financials
 Citi may see record-high credit-card hit
 Bank says card-backed assets may turn historic losses in 2009 after reporting a $1.4 billion loss in third quarter.
• J.P. Morgan unveils $70 billion mortgage-modification program
 • Huntsman suitor reportedly loses financing request in court
 
election 2008
The final sprint
 Last-minute polling shows  Obama likely to beat McCain by as much as2-to-1 margin in electoral votes, but McCain says he's still very much in the race.
• Congress gets chance for a fix   | Election won't move market   Audio
• Schwarzenegger stumps for McCain  
• Check out Palin's wardrobe  
• MarketWatch election coverage
 
u.s. auto makers
 Chrysler prefers GM over Nissan
 Talks between the Renault-Nissan alliance and Chrysler LLC owner Cerberus Capital have reportedly halted in favor of a GM deal.
• Detroit suffering from an economic Katrina (First Take)
 • Ford calls back workers | Weighing an auto bailout   
 
Mutual understanding
 Good karma
 The market meltdown has left every category of stock mutual funds in the red this year, but one area that's held up better than most is socially responsible investing
• New ETFs can't gain footing as investors shy away
 
Energy
 Ethanol maker VeraSun files Chapter 11
Twin blows of high corn costs and tight credit force request to reorganize by once-high-flying ethanol firm.
 • OPEC chief says cuts will take a while to raise crude prices
• Consumers like low gas prices, and so do gas stations
 
MARKETWATCH NEWS ROSTER | CORRECTIONS | CODE OF CONDUCT
U.S. Europe Asia Market Overview »
Dow
9,325.01 144.32
Nasdaq
1,720.95 22.43
S&P 500
968.75 14.66
10 YR
3.97% 0.01
Oil
$68.28 $0.47
Gold
$718.20 -$20.30
London
4,377.34 85.69
Paris
3,487.07 79.25
Frankfurt
4,987.97 118.67
DJ Stoxx
222.07 5.82
Tokyo
8,576.98 -452.78
Hong Kong
14,436.03 467.36
Sydney
4,093.60 110.90
Recent Quotes Portfolio
Visit the quote page and your most recently viewed stocks will automatically be displayed here in the watchlist.
Sign in to view your portfolio.
Partner Center