LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks opened solidly lower Thursday, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.8% at 21,378.88, and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index losing 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite traded flat. Real-estate stocks were among the worst performers, after Shanghai's housing bureau denied reports that it was easing restrictions on second-home purchases. Mainland Chinese developer Agile Property Holdings Ltd. fell 1.7%, while among Hong Kong real-estate names, Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. dropped 2.6%, and Henderson Land Development Co. fell 2%. Banks also suffered after U.S. financials lost ground in reaction to weak euro-zone business-activity data. HSBC Holdings PLC dropped 1.7%, China Merchants Bank Co. gave up 1.6%, and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. fell 1.1%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Barack Obama signed a bill into law on Wednesday that extends a payroll-tax cut through the end of 2012, prolongs extended unemployment benefits, and prevents a cut in pay for doctors who treat Medicare patients. The House and Senate passed the bill last week. Obama campaigned hard for the bill, which he says will prevent a tax hike for 160 million Americans.

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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks traded lower early Thursday, with banks retreating in line with their U.S. peers after a raft of weak euro-zone data. The Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.2% to 9,535.12, while the Topix moved 0.3% lower. A surprise contractionin European business activity help push shares of globally exposed banks downward, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. dropping 1.7%, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. gving up 1.2%, and Shinsei Bank Ltd. off by 1%. Stock in Mazda Motor Corp. plunged 8.2% as the car maker confirmed plans to issue new shares.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian shares edged lower in early trading, with the S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.2% at 4,286.60. Miners were lower, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. down 0.9% and Rio Tinto Ltd. also down 0.9%. Investors were also eyeing earnings, with airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. up 6.9% but Fairfax Media Ltd. down 2.4% after updating investors.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard Thursday called a leadership contest for the Labor Party after Kevin Rudd resigned as foreign minister in Washington late Wednesday.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Vivus Inc. said late Wednesday a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended 20 to 2 that the agency approve its weight-loss drug Qnexa. Shares of Vivus, which had been halted all day Wednesday, surged 91% to $20.11 on heavy volume in after-hours activity. The FDA, which is not bound by the panel recommendations but often follows them, is set to make a final decision on the drug by April 17. Qnexa, if approved, would fill a void left by several diet drugs that had been pulled from the U.S. market in past years due to safety concerns.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A panel that advises the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of a weight-loss drug made by Vivus Inc. , according to media reports later Wednesday. The advisory panel, which the FDA is not required to follow, voted 20 to 2 to support the approval of Vivus' Qnexa, which would fill a void left by weight-loss drugs pulled from the U.S. market because of various safety issues. The FDA is expected to make a decision by April 17. Shares of Vivus, which had been halted early Wednesday morning, jumped 91% to $20.17 in after-hours activity.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The G-20 will not decide on boosting resources for the International Monetary Fund until after euro-zone officials agree on their own rescue fund at a summit in early March, Lael Brainard, Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, said Wednesday. The IMF is currently seeking to raise up to $500 billion in additional lending resources so it's better equipped to respond to the euro crisis and other emergencies. But the United States and other countries are pushing Europe to first bolster the firewall designed to prevent the debt crisis from engulfing Spain or Italy. Brainard refused to give details on the size of the rescue fund, saying only that it must be big enough to convince financial markets "of the commitment by the members of the euro area to protect the euro area." She added that the firewall also must be "fully operational" and able to provide emergency funding for bank recapitalizations and sovereign needs. Europe's debt crisis will be a topic of discussion at the G-20 finance and central-bank officials' meeting in Mexico City this weekend, according to Brainard.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil supplies rose 3.6 million barrels on the week ended Feb. 17, a trade group said late Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute reported its weekly supply data a day later due to Presidents Day holiday. The API said gasoline supplies rose 314,000 barrels, while distillates stockpiles were up 630,000. The Energy Information Administration reports official data Thursday, also a day later than usual. Analysts polled by Platts expect crude-oil supplies up 1.7 million barrels, gasoline stockpiles down 450,000 barrels, and distillates inventories down 1.8 million barrels. Oil futures ended at a nine-month high on Wednesday at $106.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- SkullCandy Inc. said Wednesday afternoon that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit on stronger-than-expected sales of its headphone products and other audio accessories. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, SkullCandy reported net income of $12.3 million, or 44 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $9.7 million, or 69 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Earnings on a non-GAAP basis would have been $13.2 million, or 47 cents a share, for the recent period. Revenue rose 29% to $83.4 milliion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 48 cents a share on revenue of $662.4 million for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, breaking three straight days of gains, as investors backed off from a rally that had sent indexes to multiyear highs, and following economic data that showed business activity contracting in China and Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 27.02 points, or 0.2%, to 12,938.67, its first down day in four. The S&P 500 fell 4.55 points, or 0.3%, to 1,357.66, also quitting three straight days of gains. The Nasdaq Composite fell 15.40 points, or 0.5%, to 2,933.17; the tech-weighted index has lost ground for three days.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $1.47 billion, or 73 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.6 billion, or $1.17 a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $30.04 billion, down from $32.3 billion. Adjusted profit was 92 cents a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of 87 cents a share, on revenue of $30.7 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Analog Devices said Wednesday afternoon that earnings for the first fiscal quarter slid by 37% as a drop in sales was offset by higher expenses. For the quarter ended Feb. 4, Analog Devices reported net income of $139.4 million, or 46 cents a share, compared to net income of $222.1 million, or 70 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Revenue fell 11% to $648 milliion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 48 cents a share on revenue of $662.4 million for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet Research. The company also raised its regular quarterly dividend by 20% to 30 cents a share.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures ended marginally higher Wednesday, buoyed by lingering fears of a supply disruption after meetings in Tehran to assess Iran's nuclear program ended in disappointment for the officials with a watchdog nuclear agency. Crude traded in the red in early trading, only to seesaw as the day progressed. The April contract advanced 3 cents to settle at $106.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures shook off initial weakness to settle at a three-month high on Wednesday. Gold for April delivery advanced $12.80, or 0.7%, to end at $1,771.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest for a most-active gold contract since Nov. 16. Early losses were met with vigorous buying, aided as the dollar pared gains slightly during the session, analysts said.

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Local officials have confirmed that two people were shot on Wednesday at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. distribution center in Dinwiddie County, Va., the Associated Press reported. A spokeswoman for the Dinwiddie County Fire Department told the AP that she didn't know the conditions of the two victims or whether a suspect had been apprehended. State and county police were still at the crime scene as of early afternoon.

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Time Warner Inc.'s TBS division has renewed Conan O'Brien's show "Conan" for two more years, according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. The show debuted on the cable network in November 2010 and has averaged about 1.1 million viewers per show so far this year.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department sold $35 billion in 5-year notes on Wednesday at a yield of 0.9%, the highest level since November. Bidders offered to buy 2.89 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 3.02 times at the last four sales of 5-year notes, according to CRT Capital Group. Indirect bidders, a group which includes foreign central banks, purchased 41.8%, compared to 47.2% of recent sales. Direct bidders, a class which includes domestic money managers, brought another 12.9%, versus an average of 11.1%. After the auction, the broader bond market held onto gains. Yields on 10-year notes , which move inversely to prices, fell 3 basis points to 2.03%.

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- A train crash left at least 49 dead and 600 injured at one of Argentina's busiest commuting stations, the English-language Buenos Aires Herald reported Wednesday. The crash, which occurred during morning commuting hours at Buenos Aires' Once station, resulted from a train colliding into a platform after failing to stop at a signal light. The newspaper added that emergency teams have concluded their rescue efforts, and that at least 100 victims were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Mitt Romney unveiled a plan on Wednesday to lower Americans' marginal tax rates, repeal the alternative minimum tax and slash the corporate tax rate to 25% from 35%. Romney's campaign released the proposals ahead of Wednesday night's debate in Mesa, Arizona, the last debate before next week's Michigan and Arizona primaries. Romney is proposing a permanent, across-the-board cut of 20% in marginal rates, his campaign said.

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