VENTURE CAPITAL POST

European stocks fell back on Friday and U.S. stocks looked set to open flat after a mixed bag of euro zone growth numbers that showed France and Germany growing marginally but others like Italy still firmly in recession.

Asian stocks dipped on Friday following fresh signs of slowing Chinese growth, with energy stocks depressed across the region as crude oil hovered near a four-year low in an oversupplied market.

U.S. stock prices held firm on Thursday after the Dow and Standard & Poor's 500 reached record intraday highs, while crude fell below $80 a barrel for the first time in four years on further signs of a slowdown in China's economy.

Unfazed by slumping oil prices and battering in the stock market, firms that supply sand and guar gum for shale oil and gas companies are not ready yet to call an end to a four-year boom spurred by hydraulic fracturing technology.

With Congressional election results so far confirming expectations, a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate will likely deal investors a result that could have a direct effect on the energy sector and other slices of the equities market.

Investors betting that oil prices will recover are starting to support the battered prices of high-yield bonds from exploration and production (E&P) energy companies.

Ukraine, Russia and the European Union signed a deal on Thursday on the resumption of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine for winter after several months of delay during the conflict in Ukraine.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday boosted by gains in the energy sector, with traders looking forward to a statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve as it winds down its stimulus program.

Somalia said it was reviewing several oil and gas deals that U.N. investigators say lack transparency and risk hindering development of the country's energy industry.

A steep sell-off in energy company stocks in recent months due to falling oil prices may be overdone and there are some potential bargains to be had, Barron's financial newspaper said in its latest edition on Sunday.

Slumping energy shares drove the recent U.S. stock market selloff more than any other major group, so investors are turning to next week's slate of earnings to see if the sector can pull itself out of the pit.

The recent volatility in financial markets reinforces the need for the Federal Reserve to be patient with its policy stimulus and to clearly tie an eventual interest-rate rise to improving economic conditions, a top Fed policymaker told Reuters.

U.S. stocks extended their rebound from this month's bruising selloff on Friday, giving the S&P 500 its best day in over a week, as worries about the U.S. earnings outlook eased, but the S&P 500 still posted its fourth straight week of declines.

Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

Stocks on Wall Street tumbled in late selling on Monday as the technical picture soured for the S&P 500, while the U.S. dollar posted its worst day in a year after comments from Federal Reserve officials hinted at delays in expected interest rate hikes.