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SAN FRANCISCO Ciena Corp. shares rose 5% Thursday, to $ 16.28, following the optical-networking company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results. Before the market opened, Ciena reported a loss of $ 38.8 million, or 39 cents a share, on $ 465.5 million in revenue, compared with a loss of $ 22.3 million, or 23 cents a share, on sales of $ 455.5 million in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Ciena would have lost 7 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had forecast Ciena to lose 6 cents a share on $ 468.3 million in revenue. For its fiscal first [...]

TOKYO Asian shares extended gains for a seventh day on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve took new stimulus steps to bolster the economy, pressuring the yen with expectations the Japanese central bank will follow suit with more easing next week. While stocks gained, oil and gold fell from post-Fed rallies, as investors took profits ahead of the year-end, and concerns over the U.S. budget impasse also weighed on sentiment. The upside for equities was also contained despite the Fed’s fresh dose of liquidity-pumping measures, as investors were worried the United States would miss a year-end deadline to avert the [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc. saw its shares rise nearly 3% to $ 545.50 on Tuesday morning. Earlier in the day, China Unicom said it has received pre-orders for more than 300,000 units of the iPhone 5 ahead of the device’s launch in that market this Friday. This was up from 100,000 units on the first day of pre-orders last week. Brian Marshall of ISI Group estimates that the company ships about 5 million iPhones into China each quarter, “and we expect a strong China Unicom iPhone launch to continue momentum.” Also, the telecommunications analyst team for J.P. Morgan raised their [...]

TOKYO Asian shares and the euro rose on Monday as further signs of a stabilizing Chinese economy boosted investor risk appetite, but gains were capped by worries that an impasse in U.S. budget talks could tip the world’s largest economy into recession. European shares will likely track Asian shares higher, with financial spreadbetters predicting London’s FTSE 100 , Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX to open up as much as 0.5 percent. A 0.2 percent rise in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a firm Wall Street open. The euro hit a six-week high against the dollar at $ 1.3048 on [...]

LOS ANGELES Japanese stocks began trading modestly higher Monday, as the yen extended its downward march, sending the dollar and euro near their highest levels against the currency since April. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% to 9,478.35, with the Topix also up 0.3%, as strength in retailers and some techs offset weakness in industrials and energy shares. Gains for the tech majors included a 2.1% advance for Renesas Electronics Corp. , a 1.7% gain for Canon Inc. , and a 1% rise for Panasonic Corp. . Retailers also improved, as Takashimaya Co. added 1.3%, and J. Front Retailing Co. [...]

HONG KONG Hong Kong stocks inched up in cautious early trade Friday as investors remained focused on the U.S. fiscal cliff, with banks higher while Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. dropped after announcing a fundraising plan. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% to 21,988.73, staying on course for gains in November, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, up 0.7% at 10,558.53, was slightly lower than it was at the end of October. Bourse operator HKEx fell 1.4% after announcing a plan to raise 7.75 billion Hong Kong dollars ($ 1 billion) via a private placement to fund its [...]

LOS ANGELES Japanese stocks rose in early Thursday trading, as a strong performance for U.S. share markets overnight and a tick down for the yen helped lead exporters higher, more than offsetting scattered weakness in the retail sector. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.7% to 9,370.77, with the Topix up 0.8%, as the dollar regained the �82 level. Export majors were among the biggest advancers, as Hitachi Ltd. jumped 2.3%, Advantest Corp. rose 3%, and chemical maker Tosoh Corp. rose 2.4%. Among auto makers, which were due to report monthly domestic sales later in the day, Toyota Motor Corp. rose [...]

Credit card delinquency rates rose for the first time in nearly a year, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. Combined with rising unemployment figures and concerns about the long term effects of Hurricane Sandy, the report scared investors into a sell-off that affected shares of Capital One and Citi during November. The financial research firm reported that “late stage” credit card delinquencies rose just two basis points in October. That slight upward shift was just enough to break a yearlong streak during which fewer consumers allowed their credit cards to fall more than 60 days past due. “Early stage” delinquencies [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Yelp Inc. shares rose 4, to $ 19.62 Tuesday, as Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali raised his rating on the company’s stock to buy from hold. In a research note, Squali said he believes that the recent selloff in Yelp’s stock makes it a buying opportunity for the shares. Yelp’s shares have fallen 18% since Nov. 1, when Yelp gave a fourth-quarter forecast that disappointed investors. However, Squali said Yelp’s “local search opportunity remains compelling and intact over the intermediate to long term.” Yelp Chief Financial Officer Rob Krolik was scheduled to speak at a Credit Suisse technology conference Tuesday afternoon.

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Facebook Inc. rose 5% early Monday after Bernstein Research raised the stock’s rating to outperform citing the social networking giant’s “revenue growth potential” in the next two years. Shares of Apple Inc. also edged up 1% to $ 578 after Citigroup re-initiated coverage with a buy rating, saying the stock is poised for gains after a near-term sell-off. Yahoo Inc. also saw its stock post a 2% gain after Goldman Sachs put the stock on its conviction buy list, pointing to “recent clarity” on the company’s expected turnaround. The tech sector also got a lift from [...]