VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Equities will be the riskiest asset class this year and through the next decade, but will also offer the highest returns and attract the biggest allocation boost from investors, a poll predicted on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, with investors holding off on making bets ahead of a key jobs report that could indicate whether the market's record levels are justified by the economy's fundamentals.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept intact its pledge to keep interest rates low, providing a backstop for investors that helped lift both the Dow and S&P to record highs.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to very slight gains at the open on Tuesday, with investors finding few reasons to buy after a rally in the previous session that took the S&P 500 index above 2,000 for the first time.

The latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index for Asia showed that an improved investor sentiment in Japan and an improving view towards equities brought up the investor sentiment in the Asian region.

The state-owned pension fund of Indonesia plans to boost its holdings in equities and bonds this year in order to improve the company's earnings, Bloomberg reported.

The new programs of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan have resulted in higher investment rate in the Indian equity markets.

Banking regulations discouraging excessive use of retail credit cards caused Turkish equities to drop.

Finland's pension fund and largest private investor Varma said it would be increasing its equities investments for the second quarter of 2013.