AP - European stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Monday amid hopes that the recent bout of selling may have run its course. However, bigger gains are not anticipated over the coming days as trading volumes fall because more and more traders are shutting up shop for the Christmas break.

AFP - Indian stocks fell 0.71 percent on Monday, their third straight day of losses, on growing concerns that the central bank could raise interest rates soon to tackle rising inflation, dealers said.

AP - OPEC looks poised to hold its output steady when it meets in Angola, with a top official saying Monday there is agreement on maintaining the bloc's production targets as it struggles with cheating within its ranks.

AFP - The leading stock exchange posted strong gains on Monday as traders digested news the London Stock Exchange had agreed to take over its loss-making rival Turquoise.

Reuters - U.S. stocks gained more than 1 percent on Monday, buoyed by the healthcare sector after a Senate bill advanced that had been stripped of provisions deemed detrimental to health insurers and other companies.

AP - Another wave of corporate dealmaking carried stocks sharply higher Monday.

AP - Wealthy hedge fund operator Raj Rajaratnam and a codefendant pleaded not guilty Monday to charges they were major players in a scheme that used inside information to make stock trades that generated millions of dollars in profits.

Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher opening on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.13 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.07 percent at 0845 GMT (3:45 a.m. EST).

AP - Asian stocks were mixed Monday in dwindling year-end trade, with Japan's market rising modestly amid hopes a pickup in regional trade could help the world's second-biggest economy avoid another recession. European shares were higher.

Reuters - Santa came early for Wall Street this year by giving the S&P 500 a 22 percent gain for 2009, and with just eight trading days left in the year, stock investors are not expecting to find much more under the tree.

AP - Skeptical kids can doubt whether Santa Claus exists. But for stock-market statisticians, there's not much debate: The year-end lift known as the Santa Claus rally is no myth.

AFP - Amid signs of a strengthening economy, stock investors have become more cautious in the face of a new landscape in which cheap credit may not be as abundant.

AFP - Amid signs of a strengthening economy, stock investors have become more cautious in the face of a new landscape in which cheap credit may not be as abundant.