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Shares of Dell rose more than 12 percent early Monday afternoon after Bloomberg News reported that the personal computer maker was in talks with at least two private equity firms about going private.

Facebook joins the Nasdaq-100 Index, a move accelerated by the departure of Infosys, which is moving to the New York Stock Exchange.

Apple’s stock continued to dominate the news over the weekend, with Barron’s placing it on the top of its favorite 2013 stock list. Barnes & Noble, BlackRock, General Dynamics, JPMorgan Chase, Marathon Petroleum, Novartis, Royal Dutch, Viacom B, and Western Digital also made it to the list.

Apple's market capitalization fell below $500 billion on Thursday as shares of the world's most valuable listed company continued to slide after suffering their worst one-day decline in nearly four years.

Stocks extended their climb on Friday, with the Dow Industrial Average gaining over 100 points. Retailers are strong on what is usually the biggest shopping day of the year, with techs and materials also advancing.

Google Inc.’s stock plunged suddenly on Thursday afternoon after a contractor released the search company’s third-quarter earnings report early, by mistake. The stock fell $68.19, or 9 percent, to $687.30 before trading was halted to give investors a chance to digest the news. Google’s report had been slated for release after the close of regular trading Thursday.

Hewlett-Packard Co's shares plunged to a nine-year low on Wednesday after Chief Executive Meg Whitman warned of an unexpectedly steep earnings slide in 2013, with revenue set to fall in every business division except software.

Facebook Inc.'s stock took a hit Monday after an article in the financial magazine Barron's said it is "still too pricey" despite a sharp decline since its initial public offering.

Shares of Apple moved above $700 for the first time ever Tuesday morning, boosted by a strong reception for the latest version of its popular iPhone.

The stock market operates in mysterious ways. Yelp shares are actually trading sharply higher this morning, despite the expiration of the company's post-IPO lock-up period. As I noted earlier, the stock had lost about a third of its value in anticipation of today's event; for reasons that are not entirely clear, the stock has responded to the news with a major rally.