^DJI Stock Quote and Technical Analysis

By Ian Chua SYDNEY (Reuters) - Japanese stocks started trade on Wednesday with a spring in their step thanks to a positive lead from Wall Street and a softer yen, but the rest of Asia was restrained as investors waited for clarity on the Federal Reserve's next policy step. Major currencies were subdued as well ahead of the outcome of the Fed's policy meeting due at 1800 GMT and Chairman Ben Bernanke's media briefing half an hour later. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a touch softer, while Tokyo's Nikkei average rallied 2.0 percent to a one-week high. ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by a second-straight day of gains on Wall Street as investors bet that the Federal Reserve would temper worries about an imminent roll back of its stimulus programme. The Nikkei rose 2.0 percent to 13,265.53, while the Topix gained 2.1 percent to 1,108.60. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying.

By Eileen O'Grady and Anna Driver (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp has turned to an insider, Chief Financial Officer Lynn Good, to take over as chief executive when Jim Rogers steps down as part of a regulatory settlement linked to its $18 billion takeover of Progress Energy. Good, 54, a veteran of the U.S. utility industry who is well known on Wall Street, was viewed by analysts as a leading contender for the job. Having served as CFO since July 2009, she is considered a strong manager with the experience to lead the large, complex company like Duke, the No.1 U.S. power producer. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is closing higher as investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve will keep programs to support the U.S. economy in place.

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's resources-heavy stock market, which has struggled to gain traction in 2013, is expected to kick into gear in the second half of the year as the global economy rebounds, a Reuters poll found. The median forecast in a poll of 40 market strategists, taken in the past week, shows the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index is expected to end the year at 12,850, up 5 percent from Monday's close of 12,288.90. It will then rise to 13,500 by mid-2014 - a level not seen since mid-2011. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the pace of home construction picked up in May, the latest encouraging sign from the housing market.

By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Record prices at art auctions in recent weeks and oversubscribed holidays by private jet are among signals that a stock market slump is approaching, if followers of behavioural finance are to be believed. They insist social mood governs human action, including investment on stock markets, and their theories are gaining ground as tools for financial analysis. ...

By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Record prices at art auctions in recent weeks and oversubscribed holidays by private jet are among signals that a stock market slump is approaching, if followers of behavioral finance are to be believed. They insist social mood governs human action, including investment on stock markets, and their theories are gaining ground as tools for financial analysis. ...

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling traded little changed on Tuesday but looked vulnerable to pressure from foreign investors selling local stocks and demand for dollars from importers. By 0723 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 85.75/85 per dollar per dollar, barely changed from Monday's close of 85.65/85. "The shilling is weakening following the sell-off on the stock market. There are signs of importers coming in to buy dollars," said Sheikh Mehran, a senior trader at Kenya Commercial Bank. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors on Wall Street are playing a guessing game with the Federal Reserve.

By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets rose and the dollar strengthened against the yen on Monday on expectations the Federal Reserve will reinforce its commitment this week to supporting the U.S. economic recovery. Stocks on Wall Street and major European indices gained about 1 percent as investors anticipate the end of a two-day meeting of the U.S. central bank on Wednesday, when investors hope to get a better idea on Fed policy from Chairman Ben Bernanke. ...

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) is set to win unconditional EU approval for its $8.2 billion bid for NYSE Euronext, sources said on Monday, in a deal that would strengthen its presence in the lucrative derivatives trading business. The acquisition would give ICE control of London-based Liffe, Europe's second-largest derivatives market, and help it compete with U.S. rival CME Group. New EU derivatives rules, to be gradually phased in this year, will dramatically expand the demand for clearing over-the-counter contracts. ...

By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets rose and the dollar strengthened against the yen on Monday on expectations the Federal Reserve will reinforce its commitment this week to supporting the U.S. economic recovery. Stocks on Wall Street and major European indices gained 1 percent or more as investors await the end of a two-day meeting of the U.S. central bank on Wednesday, when investors hope to get a better idea on Fed policy from Chairman Ben Bernanke. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street ahead of a two-day meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers.