US MARKET BREAKING NEWS 16/8

1. German Second-Quarter GDP Weaker Than Expected, up 0.1% Quarter-to-Quarter vs. Forecast of 0.5%

2. Home Depot Earns 86 Cents Per Share in Q2 vs 83 Cents Per Share Forecast

3. Wal-Mart Profit of $1.09 a Share Tops Forecasts by a Penny; Retailer Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance.

4. July Housing Starts Off 1.5%, Less Than Expected; Permits Down 3.2%, Import Prices Up 0.3%, More Than Consensus.

5. Industrial Production Surges 0.9% on Auto Sector Rebound.

6. Stocks opened lower Monday amid worries over a global economic slowdown after a weaker-than-expected GDP report from Germany, but trimmed some of its pre-market losses following Fitch's affirmation on U.S.'s AAA credit rating and positive a industrial production report..

7. Stocks came off session lows Tuesday, ahead of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's press conference in Paris to discuss what further measures they can take to contain the European debt crisis.

8. Stocks staged a late-day comeback from session lows Tuesday after traders were disappointed by comments from Sarkozy and Merkel, but the gains were not enough for the market to finish in positive territory. Banks finished sharply lower, while retailers rallied.