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After seeing a notable pullback in the previous week, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest uptick in the week ended April 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report showed that initial jobless claims edged up to 352,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 348,000.

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After seeing a notable pullback in the previous week, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest uptick in the week ended April 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

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After reporting three consecutive monthly increases, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected drop by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators. The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged down by 0.1 percent in March following a 0.5 percent increase in February. Economists had expected the index to increase by 0.3 percent.

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Philadelphia-area manufacturers reported near steady business activity in April, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday, with the index of regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly showing a modest decrease. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index of current activity edged down to 1.3 in April from 2.0 in March.

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A leading indicator for China's economic performance recorded no change in March after a notable growth in the previous month, suggesting that the economic momentum is waning with the government tightening its grip on the real estate sector. The leading economic indicator (LEI) remained unchanged at 258.3 in March, following a 1.2 percent increase in February and a 1.7 percent rise in January.

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Australia's budget situation is likely to worsen further as revenue takes a A$7.5 billion-hit from strong currency and lower terms of trade, Treasurer Wayne Swan said in an interview on Sunday. "We've been hit in Australia with a high dollar, lower terms of trade, which has had a dramatic impact upon the profitability of companies and prices more generally in the economy."

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The total number of visitor arrivals in New Zealand was up 13.0 percent on year in March, Statistics New Zealand said on Sunday, standing at 270,700.

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Spain registered the biggest budget gap in the European Union last year, surpassing Greece, while austerity measures reduced the combined deficit of euro area nations. Data released by Eurostat on Monday showed that Spain's budget deficit widened to 10.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 from 9.4 percent. The 2012 shortfall was also bigger than the EU estimate of 10.2 percent.

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Latvia's producer price inflation increase in March after slowing in the previous month, data from the Central Statistical Bureau showed on Monday.

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Existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of March, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors, which attributed the drop in sales to inventory constraints. NAR said existing home sales fell 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.92 million in March after inching up by 0.2 percent to a downwardly revised 4.95 million in February.

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