1. U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting that investors are counting on to provide insight into the Fed's thinking on interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.01 points, or 0.11 percent, to 16,893.28. The S&P 500 lost 4.51 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,991.32 and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 16.20 points, or 0.34 percent, to 4,774.95.

2. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell more than expected to near a 42-year low last week, pointing to ongoing tightening in the labor market despite the recent slowdown in hiring.

The data released on Thursday provides an upbeat check on the health of the labor market after last week's monthly employment report increased doubts the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by the end of this year.

3. U.S. holiday season sales will increase by 3.7 percent in 2015, marking slightly slower growth than last year as consumers fret about a potential government shutdown and sluggish income growth, the leading retail industry group said on Thursday.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast sales from November to December 2015 at $630.5 billion, excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales. The growth rate would be significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent, though slower than the 4.1 percent increase in 2014, the NRF said.

4. The dollar pared losses against the other major currencies on Wednesday, easing off a three-week trough after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell more than expected last week.

The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 119.93.

The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 3 fell by 13,000 to 263,000 from the previous week’s downwardly revised total of 276,000.

5. Oil prices held steady after surrendering early gains on Thursday, as an unexpectedly large rise in U.S. inventory levels dented some of the recent optimism that the oversupply plaguing the market could soon vanish.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.1 million barrels to 461 million last week as refineries cut output and idled capacity. Analysts had expected a rise of 2.2 million barrels.

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1. U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday as crude oil prices rose for the fourth day in a row, with Brent crude on track to post its best 4-day run in more than a month.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rose 82.71 points, or 0.49 percent, to 16,872.9. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 9.96 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,989.88 and the Nasdaq composite (IXIC) added 25.80 points, or 0.54 percent, to 4,774.16.

2. Volkswagen's supervisory board was holding crisis talks on Wednesday, facing deadlines from German regulators and U.S lawmakers to explain its rigging of diesel emissions tests and what it is doing to tackle the scandal.

The 20-person board gathered at the German carmaker's headquarters in Wolfsburg at around 9 a.m. (0700 GMT). Sources close to the matter said talks were likely to last for hours.

3. A recovery in oil prices spread to stock markets and emerging market currencies on Wednesday, with the prospect of more support from the world's central banks offsetting more disappointing economic data.

After a dismal summer quarter in which global equities fell the most since 2011, traders say fund managers were ready to pile back in, hoping the recent market reversal was a hiccup rather than the end of a six-year bull market.

4. Gold prices were trading close to two-week highs on Wednesday as expectations that the Federal Reserve may hold off raising interest rates until next year continued to weigh on the dollar.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery were last at $1,147.4 an ounce, after rising to highs of $1,152.7 earlier.

5. The U.S. dollar dropped to two-month lows against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, despite weak Canadian data as demand for the greenback remained under pressure after investors pushed back expectations for a U.S. rate hike until 2016.

USD/CAD hit 1.2987 during early U.S. trade, the pair's lowest since August 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3002, sliding 0.24%.

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1. U.S. stocks fell marginally at the open on Tuesday as investors booked profits after the S&P 500's best 5-day run since 2011.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) fell 13.56 points, or 0.08 percent, to 16,762.87. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 2.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,984.67 and the Nasdaq composite (IXIC) dropped 13.95 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,767.31.

2. Oil prices rose on Tuesday, heading for the first three-day gain in five weeks, on signals that the world's biggest producers of crude may act jointly to support prices, which have halved over the past year.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark traded up 75 cents at the $50.00 a barrel milestone for the first time in two weeks by 1243 GMT, or 1.4 percent day on day. It rose 2.3 percent on Monday.

3. The euro pushed higher against the weaker dollar on Tuesday as diminished expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year pressured the greenback lower.

EUR/USD rose 0.46% to 1.1237 from 1.1186 late Monday. The dollar remained on the back foot after Friday’s unexpectedly weak U.S. jobs report prompted investors to abandon expectations for a rate hike by the Fed before the end of 2015.

4. New Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) Chief Executive Matthias Mueller warned staff on Tuesday to brace for "massive cutbacks" in response to the diesel emissions scandal that has hammered the company's stock and reputation.

Speaking to employees at VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Mueller, who replaced longtime CEO Martin Winterkorn late last month, said all the company's investment plans would be put under review and an existing cost-cutting program accelerated, cautioning, "this will not be painless".

5. U.S. exports took a hit from an ailing global economy in August and imports from China surged, fueling the largest expansion of America's trade deficit in five months. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit grew by 15.6% to $48.3 billion in August.

Overall exports fell 2% to their lowest level since October 2012. Imports rose 1.2%, even though America bought the least petroleum from abroad since September 2004.

The data illustrates the U.S. economy's vulnerabilities to a strong dollar and weak demand in foreign markets, which could impose further caution on the Federal Reserve's plans to hike interest rates.

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1. Wall Street opened higher on Monday, after a disappointing U.S. jobs report on Friday hardened views that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates this year.

Global stock markets rose on Monday with investors expecting the era of near-zero interest rates to continue for a while yet. Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September showed job growth slowed in the last three months.

2. Russia is escalating Syria's civil war by targeting the moderate opposition, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, comparing Moscow's effort to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to tethering itself to a sinking ship.

"By taking military action in Syria against moderate groups targets, Russia has escalated the civil war," Carter said in a speech during a trip to Spain.

3. The Institute of Supply Management non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell more-than-expected in the last quarter, official data showed on Monday.

In a report, Institute for Supply Management said that ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 56.9, from 59.0 in the preceding quarter. Analysts had expected ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI to fall to 57.5 in the last quarter.

4. Uber Inc's aggressive global expansion is looking costlier and riskier than ever as the company struggles with regulatory and competitive obstacles in major markets.

Just last week, the company faced a police raid on its European headquarters in the Netherlands, a criminal trial of two top executives in France, a ban on its services in Rio de Janeiro and proposed new regulations in London and Toronto that could cripple its services in those cities.

5. The dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies on Monday, as Friday's U.S. jobs data dampened expectations for a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year and as investors eyed an upcoming report on U.S. service sector activity.

The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.28% at 120.23, off Friday's one-month low of 118.66, as investors locked in profits on the greenback’s fall.

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Stocks in Europe joined a rally in commodities and emerging markets on speculation the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates following signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose a second day, and U.S. equity-index futures climbed after Friday’s worse-than-forecast jobs data sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index 1.4 percent higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index headed for its longest streak of gains since July. Commodities including copper and oil advanced, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped a third day.

Glencore Plc was buoyed in London amid reports the commodities trader is in talks with potential buyers of its agriculture business. “Interest-rate hikes for the moment are off the table,” said Patrick Spencer, equities vice chairman at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “It’s October, traditionally the market tends to rally here into year-end.”

The odds of Fed liftoff this month fell to 8 percent after U.S. reports showed the pace of hiring slowed in September and wage growth stalled, spurring speculation policy makers will take longer to remove stimulus that has helped repair the global economy.

With futures traders not seeing an increase from near zero until at least March, investors are returning to emerging-market assets and higher-yielding currencies. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index fell to 57.5 last month from 59 in August, economists said before today’s report.

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1. The dollar turned lower against the other major currencies on Friday, after data showed that the U.S. created far less jobs than expected last month, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy.

The dollar erased gains against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.39% at 119.42, off highs of 120.41 hit earlier in the day.

2. U.S. oil futures climbed higher on Friday, amid growing concerns over escalating violence in Syria and as markets eyed the release of U.S. data later in the day.

U.S. crude futures for November delivery were last at $45.22 a barrel, up 1.07% for the day. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the November Brent contract were up 0.28% at $47.83 a barrel.

3. Wall Street opened sharply lower on Friday after data showed a less-than-expected rise in nonfarm payrolls in September, raising doubts that the economy is strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. The three major indexes were down more than 1.5 percent.

4. U.S. factory orders fell more-than-expected last month, official data showed on Friday.

In a report, US Census Bureau said that U.S. Factory Orders fell to a seasonally adjusted -1.7%, from 0.2% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 0.4%. Analysts had expected U.S. Factory Orders to fall to -1.2% last month.

5. Experian Plc (L:EXPN), the world's biggest consumer credit monitoring firm, on Thursday disclosed a massive data breach that exposed sensitive personal data of some 15 million people who applied for service with T-Mobile US Inc (N:TMUS).

Experian said it discovered the theft of the T-Mobile customer data from one of its servers on Sept. 15. The computer stored information about some 15 million people who had applied for service with telecoms carrier T-Mobile during the prior two years, Experian said.

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The US economy added 142,000 jobs in September, less than forecast.

Economists had been expecting the economy to add 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.1%, a seven-year low.

Average hourly earnings were flat month-over-month in September, below expectations for 0.2% growth.

Ahead of this report, economists had noted that August and September nonfarm payrolls prints have been revised higher most of the time over the last decade. However, the August print was revised to 136,000 from 173,000 in Friday's report.

Economists had noted that the broad-based slowdown in the manufacturing sector, and in employment, would likely show up in this report. Manufacturing employment fell 9,000 in September, versus expectations for no change.

Mining employment also fell, as health care and information added more jobs, according to the Labor Department.

The labor force participation rate, which measures the share of Americans over 16 looking for work, fell to 62.4%, the lowest since 1977.

The year-over-year projection for hourly earnings growth, at +2.4%, was the most bullish forecast for wages in this economic cycle. Wages missed, at 2.2%.

Here's what Wall Street was expecting:

Nonfarm payrolls:+200,000

Unemployment rate: 5.1%

Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: +0.2%

Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: +2.4%

Average weekly hours worked: 34.6

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