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BANGKOK - Asian stocks eked out gains Thursday as traders hunted for bargains after sharp selling in recent days, but markets in Europe fell amid intensifying fears of a messy exit by Greece from the euro common currency.

Greece called a new round of elections for June 17 after coalition talks to form a government fell apart. The president said depositors were pulling hundreds of millions of euros out of banks, weakening the country’s strained financial system.

The developments fueled fears that Greece would exit the euro currency and shake global markets. In elections earlier this month, Greek voters punished parties that supported tough austerity measures needed to secure international bailout money.

But analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said the scheduling of new Greek elections suggested “a reduction in near-term uncertainties” that could lead to some relief for volatile markets.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4 per cent to 5,380.72 in early trading. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 6,373.01 and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.2 per cent to 3,042.45.

U.S. stocks were set for a moderately higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures up 0.3 per cent at 12,610. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 per cent to 1,327.

In Asia, stock markets enjoyed a slight rebound as investors went bargain-hunting, analysts said.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 per cent to close at 8,876.59 after the country posted better-than-expected growth figures for the first quarter. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 1,845.24. Benchmarks in Taiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines also rose business cards.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 per cent to 4,157.40, dragged down by financial stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.3 per cent down at 19,200.93.

Mainland Chinese shares bounced back from early losses, buoyed by calls from the country’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, for market reforms.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 per cent to 2,378.89. The Shenzhen Composite Index also gained 1.4 per cent to 954.95. Shares in brokerages, financial and trading-related companies led the gains.

Positive news on the U.S. economy on Wednesday underpinned sentiment in Asia. Construction of homes in April rose 2.6 per cent from March, and U.S. factory production increased 0.6 per cent in April, helped by a gain in auto production.

Some Japanese stocks saw big gains amid news that the country’s economy grew at an annualized 4.1 per cent for the January-March quarter thanks to a rebound in consumer spending.

Sharp Corp. jumped 5.7 per cent and Mazda Motor Corp. added 3.8 per cent. Steel company JFE Holdings shot up 5.5 per cent.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 52 cents to $93.33 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell by $1.17 to finish at a seven-month low of $92.81 per barrel in New York.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2715 from $1.2725 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 80.35 yen from 80.29 yen.

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AP researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reporting a 10.1 percent increase in first-quarter profit as the world’s largest retailer’s re-emphasis on low prices continues to woo back bargain-hungry shoppers in an uncertain economy.

Wal-Mart says that it earned $3.74 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the quarter ended April 30. That compares with $3.39 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Net sales excluding membership fees from Sam’s Club rose 8.6 percent to $112.2 billion.

Analysts had expected $1 guaranteed online personal loans.04 per share on net sales of $110.5 billion.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 2.6 percent at its Wal-Mart’s namesake U.S. division. That’s above the 1.4 percent estimate from Wall Street.

The company is offering an upbeat profit outlook for the current quarter.

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Spain will make a fourth attempt to convince investors its banking system is solid after failing to do so with three prior tries in as many years.

The Obama administration tightened rules on hydraulic fracturing Friday, requiring the disclosure of chemicals used in the process when done on federal and American Indian lands.

The new rules will also require additional testing of oil and gas well construction and require the industry to have a management plan for the water used in the process.

"This proposed rule will strengthen the requirements for hydraulic fracturing performed on federal and Indian lands in order to build public confidence and protect the health of American communities, while ensuring continued access to the important resources that make up our energy economy," the Interior Department said in a statement.

The move is part of a broader administration effort to increase rules for the controversial practice. Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency tightened air pollution requirements for new oil and gas wells.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is known, has unleashed a boom in energy production in the United States by allowing the production of oil and gas from shale rock. It has reduced the country’s oil imports, boosted natural gas production and provided thousands of jobs.

Most major oil companies are now involved in shale oil and gas production, including Exxon Mobil (, Fortune 500), Royal Dutch Shell (, Fortune 500) and BP ().

But the process has also raised fears of ground water contamination and is suspected of causing mild earthquakes.

Fracking involves injecting water, sand and some chemicals deep into the earth to crack shale rock, which allows oil and gas to more easily flow. Critics fear the chemicals are seeping into the groundwater.

Obama tightens oil and gas drilling regulations

About 20% of the nation’s natural gas production and 30% of its oil production is done on federal lands.

The oil and gas industry has long resisted disclosing what chemicals it uses in the fracking process, arguing they were trade secrets and that disclosure would harm their competitive advantage.

But environmentalists and public health officials lobbied for the disclosure, saying it was needed to monitor for pollution and effectively treat workers involved in accidents.

The ingredients used in fracking vary widely, and can include everything from sulfuric acid and benzene to instant coffee and paraffin wax.

While the industry initially resisted disclosing the formula, it has gradually been moving in that direction under intense public pressure. Many states now require disclosure, and many companies list at least some of the ingredients on a website called FracFocus.

Environmentalists were pleased with Friday’s announcement but said even more should be done.

They said the new rules only require chemical disclosure after the fracturing has been done. What’s needed, they say, is disclosure before the job so residents can do baseline testing of their water.

"We think the administration can and should have done more here to protect human health and the environment," said Amy Mall, a policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. The government "should not propose rules that are weaker than what any state has on the books."

Most fracking regulations are controlled by the states, but environmentalists have argued that the federal government should play a greater role.

The industry maintains the state rules are sufficient, and having the federal government involved adds an unnecessary layer of regulation that is both costly and time consuming.

In reacting to the new rules Friday, the industry didn’t seem too concerned with the proposal itself, but was leery of a bigger federal presence.

"The states have proven time and again that they are the best place for responsible regulation of drilling operations," The American Petroleum Institute’s Erik Milito said in a statement. "While it appears constructive changes have been made, we are still reviewing the new proposal to see how the agency addressed the various concerns that we’ve raised."

The trend in fracking regulation has been moving toward an increased federal role. Many analysts say the increased regulation is both necessary to convince the public the process is safe and affordable for the industry.

The Obama administration is generally supportive of fracking, but with increased oversight.

There still exists two extremes in this fight, with some in the industry opposing any new rules and some critics arguing the process should be banned altogether.

–CNN’s Poppy Harlow contributed to this report 

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Investors are steering away from French bonds as they cast a wary eye on election frontrunner Francois Hollande

Asian stocks fell Monday after budget talks in the Netherlands collapsed over the weekend and a Socialist who wants to put France’s austerity plans in reverse won the first round of the country’s presidential election.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent to 9,533.48, as a strengthening yen hurt high-tech exporters. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent to 20,871.23 and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.3 percent to 1,969.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2 percent to 4,357.70.

Over the weekend, Dutch lawmakers failed to resolve differences over budget cuts needed to bring the Dutch deficit back within the European Union limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

The government is expected to resign within the coming days and call elections later this year, making it the latest European government forced out of office by the continent’s financial crisis.

Markets were also rattled by first-round results in France’s presidential election. Socialist candidate Francois Hollande garnered more votes than incumbent conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande wants to renegotiate a European treaty intended to limit excessive government spending in order to emphasize growth over austerity low interest personal loan.

If Hollande wins a second-round election May 6, economists fear those steps would upset France’s delicate cooperation with Germany that has been key to Europe’s efforts to resolve its financial crisis.

U.S. stocks rose Friday on the back of stronger profits from Microsoft, McDonald’s and other major U.S. corporations.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 percent to close at 13,029.26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.1 percent to 1,378.53. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.2 percent to 3,000.45.

In energy trading, benchmark oil for June delivery was down 13 cents to $103.75 a barrel Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.16 to settle at $103.88 in New York on Friday.

The euro fell to $1.3187 from $1.3215 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 81.27 yen from 81.58 yen.

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More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the improvement in labor-market conditions may be stalling.

Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 386,000 in the week ended April 14 from a revised 388,000 the prior period that was higher than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a drop to 370,000. Revisions to previous data have been larger than normal and the government is trying to determine the cause, a Labor Department spokesman said as the figures were released to the press.

The claims figures raise the possibility the payroll gains that have helped push unemployment down to a three-year low may cool, weighing on consumer spending. Federal Reserve officials, awaiting evidence of a more robust job market and economic growth, have said they

The raspberry-colored walls are up — as is the large “American Girl” sign with stars dotting the “i”s.

When the highly-anticipated store opens later this week in Chesterfield Mall, lines of devoted fans are expected to snake outside the store as they wait to buy $100 dolls. But many parents haven’t waited for the grand opening to book children’s birthday parties there, with reservations already scheduled for several months out.

The store’s arrival — and the diehard following it brings along — is being welcomed with open arms by Chesterfield Mall. The shopping center has struggled in recent years with declining sales and a lower occupancy rate than many other area malls.

Katie Reinsmidt, spokeswoman for CBL & Associates, the mall’s owner, said the mall has already been moving in a positive direction this year with a rise in both traffic and sales.

“I think things are turning the corner,” she said.

And the American Girl store can’t do anything but help bring more visitors and buzz, she added.

“Other retailers at the center are anticipating some additional traffic — it will definitely have some cross benefit,” she said. “There’s nothing like it in the mall today.”

That’s what Angie Sicard hopes. Her specialty toy store, Toy Tyme, caters to both girls and boys.

“Families are going to spend so much on girls (at American Girl), that the boys are going to want something, too,” she said. “So they are going to come to our store” or other retailers in the mall.

Wade Opland, American Girl’s vice president of retail, said retailers near new American Girl stores usually see a double-digit sales lift regardless of whether it’s a cookie store or clothing store.

“We’re like the Apple of girls business for a mall,” he said, referring to the high traffic and sales that Apple brings to mall-based stores. “That’s why we’re so sought after.”

Whereas most mall stores pull from an area of about 20 miles, American Girl stores draw customers from a 150 to 200-mile radius, Opland said.

The Chesterfield store is one of three stores American Girl will open this year; the other two slated to open later this year are in Miami and Houston.

But while the retailer, which began as a direct-to-consumer catalog company, has been growing its bricks-and-mortar footprints in recent years, it doesn’t expect to have more than 20 stores nationwide, Opland said. The Chesterfield store is American Girl’s 12th store nationwide and will be the retailer’s only store in Missouri.

The retailer was drawn to Chesterfield Mall for its “premier” mix of stores and because it is in the midst of a growing community with many young families, Opland said.

“Part of our strategy is we want to put these stores where mom, girls, and families live,” he said guaranteed pay day loans. “At Chesterfield Mall, we’re in a prime location where mom can see us and it has a plethora of parking.”

The 10,850 square-foot store, which has an exterior entrance to the mall, is going into the space formerly occupied by the restaurant Wapango.

CBL’s Reinsmidt said Chesterfield Mall has a great location in an area with attractive demographics.

“But Chesterfield had unfortunate luck going into the recession,” she said. “Pretty much anytime a national bankruptcy announcement was made, there was one of those stores at Chesterfield.”

Borders and The Sharper Image are two examples. And some retailers — such as Abercrombie & Fitch, which shuttered its store in Chesterfield Mall earlier this year — have been paring back their number of mall stores nationwide, she said.

In late 2009, the mall began inviting local artists to fill some empty spaces in the mall as part of Artropolis — similar to ailing Crestwood Court’s now mostly-defunct ArtSpace.

By the end of 2011, Chesterfield Mall’s store space was 93 percent leased, up from 84 percent in 2007, according to CBL’s annual report.

But even though it has fewer vacancies, the mall’s sales per square foot in those mall stores (not including anchors) dropped 17 percent to $270 during that same time period. By comparison, sales per square feet at other CBL malls in the area range from $475 at West County Center to $400 at St. Claire Square to $364 at South County Center.

Reinsmidt said one of the challenges for Chesterfield Mall is that there is a lot of space to fill — nearly 500,000 square feet of store space not including anchors. That is more than any of CBL’s other four malls in the region.

And when the mall’s previous owner, Westfield, refurbished the mall in a $71 million project in 2006, it added more store space with a wing that includes the movie theater, food court, stores and restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory.

“They expanded the small shop space rather than contracting it,” she said.

With so much space, many of Chesterfield’s stores are a bit larger than in other malls, which lowers the mall’s sales-per-square-foot number, she said.

“The stores are really profitable and have great volumes,” she said.

As some stores leave, new tenants continue to come to the mall. Francesca’s Collections opened in the last week or so. And Monsoon, a London-based children’s retailer, is planning to open a store there this summer.

And, of course, there is American Girl. It plans a “soft” opening on Wednesday followed by a grand opening celebration on Saturday and Sunday.

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Global financial regulators have failed to create clear standards for banks, meaning lenders are hoarding cash instead of providing loans needed to drive growth, European Banking Federation President Christian Clausen said.