In what appears to be a major coup for Morningstar, the financial research firm's data will populate a new stock application in Windows 8, sources say.

The community technology preview version of Windows 8 contains a Microsoft applet called "Stocks," which includes a significant amount of Morningstar data.

Although no official announcement has been made by either Morningstar or Microsoft, sources say that plans currently call for Morningstar to provide data to power the app when Windows 8 is released. In addition to detailed stock quotes, the app includes market news, charting capabilities, stock statistics by indices and industry, company profiles and other data.

It is not yet clear what the final version will offer, nor is it clear whether additional information will be available on a subscription basis.

-Joel Bruckenstein