U.S. Stock Futures Advance Before GDP Report

U.S. stock-index futures advanced, erasing earlier losses, as investors awaited a report that may show the world’s largest economy expanded in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace of 2011.

Starbucks Corp. dropped in Germany after reporting earnings.

Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) declined 8.7 percent in pre- market New York trading as it projected sales and profit that missed estimates.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March rose 0.2 percent to 1,317.4 at 10:11 a.m. in London, rebounding from an earlier drop of as much as 0.3 percent.

KSE index declines by 46 points on profit-booking

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark index fell 46 points to below 12,000 points on profit-booking, mainly in fertiliser and energy stocks.

“Institutions opted to book profit in overbought stocks,” said Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corporation, adding that the market had surged by about 1,000 points in the last few sessions.

The benchmark KSE 100-share index declined by 46.28 points, or 0.38 percent, to 11,991.38. The KSE 30-share index decreased by 39.98 points, or 0.36 percent, to 11,181.40.

European Stocks Decline on Ericsson, Novartis

European stocks fell for a second day after Ericsson AB and Novartis AG (NOVN) posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

U.S. index futures retreated, while Asian shares climbed.

Ericsson, the world’s largest maker of wireless networks, plunged 14 percent after reporting fourth-quarter net income that missed analysts’ estimates.

Novartis, Europe’s biggest drugmaker by sales, declined 3.4 percent. ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) climbed 4.1 percent after Apple Inc.

posted quarterly profit that more than doubled.

The benchmark Stocks Europe 600 Index slipped 0.8 percent to 254.04 at 12:27 p.m. in London.

Markets surge on Reserve Bank of India’s growth focus

Benchmark share indices ended at their 10-week closing highs on Tuesday, after the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to boost liquidity by lowering the cash reserve ratio would help revive growth.

The RBI in the third quarter review of Monetary Policy cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 bps to 5.5%.

CRR cut will infuse Rs 32,000 crore into the system.

However, repo and reverse repo have been kept unchanged at 8.5% and 7.5%, respectively.

RBI has kept Inflating forecast unchanged at 7%. GDP forecast has been brought down to 7% from 7.6% earlier.

U.S. Stock Futures Slip on Lack of Debt-Swap Progress; InterDigital Sinks

U.S. stock-index futures slipped, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may drop for the first day in six, after a meeting of euro-area finance chiefs finished without making progress on a debt-swap deal for Greece.

Inter Digital Inc. tumbled 17 percent in German trading as the owner of wireless-technology patents concluded a strategic review without a sale.

Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) advanced 3.2 percent in German trading after the world’s largest maker of analog chips posted fourth-quarter sales and profit that declined less than analysts had estimated.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in March declined 0.5 percent to 1,304.4 at 6:47 a.m. in New York.

Dubai Shares Rise to Month High After Cheapest Level Since March

Dubai stocks rose to a month high after last week’s drop pushed shares to the cheapest levels in almost a year and as oil traded above $100 a barrel.

Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest construction company, jumped 2.8 percent.

Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR) rose the most since December.

The DFM General Index (DFMGI) increased 1.7 percent to 1,364.03, the highest since Dec. 19, at the 2 p.m. close in the emirate.

Dubai’s shares slumped to the lowest since May 2004 on Jan. 16, with companies in the gauge retreating to the cheapest level since March.

Govt eases stock market tax rules to spur trade

Federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh says the government has decided to ease rules on capital gains tax to revive trading volumes hit by the imposition of the levy.

“We agree on proposals of the stock exchange to support activity and positive growth,” Shaikh said during his visit on Saturday to Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The decision applies from April 1.

KSE suggested that existing two tax bands be cut to a single flat rate, and that levy be paid after it is calculated and certified by National Clearing Company of Pakistan Ltd.

U.S. Investors Were Biggest Net Foreign Buyers of Japan Stocks

Investors based in North America were the biggest overseas net buyers of Japanese stocks last year, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Investors based in North America bought 1 trillion yen ($13 billion) more shares than they sold on Japan’s exchanges in 2011, the country’s biggest bourse said today.

The amount accounted for half the total net purchases of Japanese stocks by overseas investors last year.

Net purchases by investors based in the U.S declined 38 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, while those in Europe fell 56 percent to 460.9 billion yen.

Share prices rise 2.25pc ahead of minister’s visit

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark index increased by 2.25 percent to a two-month high of 11,775 points on Friday as the volume surged to a three-and-a-half month high of 178 million shares ahead of finance minister’s visit to the Exchange on Saturday (today), said dealers.

“KSE invited euphoric buying after the exchange announced the visit of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Saturday,” said Hasnain Asghar Ali, head of research at Aziz Fidahusein.

He added that the minister might announce relaxation for stock market investors under capital gains tax (CGT) regime.

Google Miss Hands Losses to Bullish Traders

Google Inc. (GOOG) options traders who made bullish bets before the company’s quarterly report yesterday suffered the U.S. derivatives market’s biggest losses today after the search-engine operator missed analysts’ projections.

Google calls posted the 11 biggest declines among all contracts traded on U.S. exchanges as of 1:09 p.m. New York time, with each tumbling more than 99 percent.

Shares of the Mountain View, California- based company fell as much as 8.6 percent, the most intraday since May 2010, to $584.81. January $605 calls, which expire today, retreated 99.95 percent for the biggest drop.