*Gold to retrace to $1,394- technicals. LONDON, April 24- Gold rose on Wednesday as solid physical demand encouraged speculative buying after the previous session's drop, while support also came from weak German economic data, which fanned speculation the European Central Bank could cut interest rates.
HONG KONG, April 24- China shares climbed on Wednesday after two straight days of losses, as strength in financial counters ahead of a slew of quarterly earnings in the sector helped benchmark indexes retrace about half of Tuesday's losses. The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings closed up 1.9 percent.
*Gold to retrace to $1,394- technicals. SINGAPORE, April 24- Gold rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday on bargain hunting after a drop in the previous session, but pressure from a firm U.S. dollar, strong equities and daily falls in holdings by exchange-traded funds looks set to cap prices.
*IBM shares down, Google up after results. *McDonald's profit up, shares off as U.S. sales drop. NEW YORK, April 19- U.S. stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday, bouncing back a day after the S&P 500 index closed below its 50- day moving average for the first time this year.
*IBM shares down, Google up after results. NEW YORK, April 19- U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, setting the market up for a bounce back a day after the S&P 500 closed below its 50- day moving average for the first time this year.
NEW YORK, April 18- The S&P 500 fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, with technology shares leading losses and the S&P 500 trading below its 50- day moving average. Apple shares extended their slide from Wednesday, while shares of eBay dropped after its disappointing forecast. Google results are due after the bell.
*UnitedHealth profit falls, shares drop. *Verizon, PepsiCo rise after results beat forecasts. The level was also the floor of the trading range during the last month, making 1,543 a key technical support, according to Richard Ross, global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson in New York.
*UnitedHealth profit falls, shares drop. NEW YORK, April 18- U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday after a batch of weaker-than-expected economic data triggered more concerns about the global economy and put the S&P 500 on key a technical support level.
TOKYO, April 18- Japan's Nikkei share average shed 1.2 percent on Thursday as Apple-linked shares came under pressure on concerns of slowing sales of the iPhone maker's products, while global growth worries dampened the appeal of exporters. The Nikkei ended 162.82 points lower at 13,220.07, breaking below its five-day moving average of 13,317.04.
*UnitedHealth profit falls, shares drop. *Verizon, PepsiCo rise after results beat forecasts. The level was also the floor of the trading range during the last month, making 1,543 a key technical support, according to Richard Ross, global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson in New York.