(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday led by big-cap technology shares, but continued uncertainty over how European leaders would alleviate Greece's simmering debt crisis capped gains. Big-cap technology stocks Intel, Oracle and Apple led the market higher. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) gained 0.6 percent to $382.11, while Intel Corp (INTC.O) added 0.8 percent to $20.43, and Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) jumped 2 percent to $27.33.

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(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought on Tuesday to quash talk of an imminent Greek default as the United States voiced concern at the euro zone's inability to stem its debt crisis. Market confidence in the 17-nation currency area suffered another blow when Italy had to pay the highest yield since it joined the euro in 1999 to sell 5-year bonds. And the chief executive of carmaker Fiat warned that the euro system "could go off the rails" if EU leaders do not get a grip.

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(Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc's reported lower-than-expected quarterly results as shoppers held off on buying televisions and other nonessential items in the anemic U.S. economy, and its shares fell nearly 8 percent. The world's largest consumer electronics chain's lackluster results on Tuesday highlighted the fragility of recovery in the world's largest economy. (For a graphic on Best Buy's earnings, click r.reuters.com/nuf73s )

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(Reuters) - Import prices fell in August due to lower fuel costs, potentially giving the central bank more room for stimulus measures to boost the economy, data showed on Tuesday. A drop in prices for petroleum helped push import prices 0.4 percent lower following a 0.3 percent increase in the previous month, the Labor Department said in a report. Prices for food and industrial materials also fell.

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(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard has extended the deadline for its $11.2 billion takeover of British software company Autonomy, with analysts predicting the U.S. firm is on course to succeed. HP has extended the deadline for the offer to October 3 after gaining acceptances from shareholders representing 41.6 percent of shares. The company requires a further 33.4 percent support from Autonomy investors to delist its target from the London Stock Exchange.

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(Reuters) - Italy had to pay record interest to sell its bonds on Tuesday as it raced to calm market fears that it was losing control of a huge public debt and could trigger a crisis that threatened the euro zone. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said a 54 billion euro austerity plan would be approved by parliament on Wednesday and promised to pursue other measures to boost growth. Sources told Reuters the government was also considering sales of property and local utilities to raise funds to cut its debt -- now around 120 percent of annual national output.

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(Reuters) - Fiat (FIA.MI) and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said the euro single currency system could be derailed unless European leaders resolved the debt crisis. Marchionne said markets were showing little confidence in Europe's ability to draw a line under the crisis, which has spread to his homeland Italy after engulfing Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

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(Reuters) - A top executive with Northern Trust Corp (NTRS.O) said the custodian bank will not impose an additional fee on institutional clients who significantly increase their cash holdings. Rick Waddell, Northern Trust's chairman and chief executive officer, said he has no problem with institutional customers using the bank's balance sheet to dump cash after moving out of riskier assets.

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(Reuters) - Stocks fell in a volatile session on Monday on concerns the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis could undermine a global economic recovery, but a tech deal limited losses on the Nasdaq index. The market pared early drops of more than 1 percent spawned by worries Moody's Investors Service would downgrade French banks and by the lack of a solution to Greece's debt problem.

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(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp is looking to reduce annual expenses by $5 billion by 2013 through its cost-cutting initiative, Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said. The program -- known as New BAC after the company's stock symbol -- is focusing on consumer banking and the bank's systems architecture for now, he said. The second phase will focus on institutional client businesses such as corporate banking.

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