Healthcare companies on a seven-year tear have been top performers so far in 2015, helping to push broad stock indexes to record levels, but traders are now looking to protect themselves from a selloff as they await major earnings reports in the sector.
Investors
Tokyo Electron shares sink after takeover by Applied Materials scrapped
Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T) shares plunged 15 percent on Tuesday to a six-month low after U.S. regulatory opposition forced the scrapping of its planned takeover by U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O).
U.S. Stocks cool ahead of Fed, pound skids on disappointing GDP
World shares shuffled away from all-time highs on Tuesday as surging Chinese stocks took a breather and investors began to retreat to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
Wall Street opens up, Nasdaq closer to record ahead of Apple earnings
Wall Street was higher at the open on Monday and the Nasdaq inched closer to its record intraday high ahead of Apple's (AAPL.O) results after the close.
World shares hit new high but Europe rally fades on Greece
World shares hit a new high on Monday, led by China, though the global rally faded in Europe as investors looked ahead to central bank meetings in the United States and worried over Greece.
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UBS's (UBSG.VX) chairman said a default by Greece is seen by the International Monetary Fund as "systemically controllable" and he believed it would have a negligible impact on the Swiss bank itself, according to a newspaper interview published on Saturday.
Canon Inc (7751.T) said on Friday it owned 84 percent of the shares in Swedish video-surveillance firm Axis AB (AXIS.ST), and said it was extending the period for other shareholders to accept but would not raise its offer price of 340 Swedish crowns per share.
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 chalked up record high closes on Friday, propelled by strong results from tech behemoths Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
Emerging Asian central banks are expected to cut interest rates again in the coming months, but economists polled by Reuters are doubtful the moves will significantly boost growth or inflation.
The euro hit a two-week high against a soft dollar on Friday, supported by a rise in a key German business sentiment survey and hopes that cash-strapped Greece was making tentative progress toward securing fresh funding.
Starbucks Corp said on Thursday sales at its coffee shops in the Americas region grew more than expected, boosted by sales of breakfast sandwiches, lunch and new drinks, such as Flat White.
Global equity markets rode to new all-time highs on Friday, with positive corporate updates in Europe and a post-dotcom-boom peak for the U.S. Nasdaq stoking investor optimism.
Most U.S. companies so far this earnings season have managed to beat Wall Street profit forecasts despite weak sales, but investors hoping corporate headwinds have died down may need to temper their enthusiasm.
Asian shares weathered a soft reading on Chinese manufacturing on Thursday as it only whetted expectations for more policy stimulus there, while a sharp rise in British and German bond yields rippled through global debt markets.
