Currencies

• EUR/USD The 17-nation euro held yesterday's gain versus the greenback after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe must be united in protecting stability in the currency.
  • The dollar dropped 0.1 percent to $1.3178 per euro as of 6:37 a.m. in London from $1.3161 in New York yesterday when it slid 0.6 percent.

• USD/JPY A gauge of volatility for the yen climbed to the highest this year amid speculation Japan will intervene in the foreign-exchange market.
  • The Japanese currency traded at 76.12 per dollar, 1 percent from the record high of 75.35 set on Oct. 31.

• AUD/USD Australia's dollar reached a five-month high after a report showed the nation's trade surplus widened in December to A$1.71 billion ($1.83 billion) from a revised A$1.34 billion the previous month.
  • Australia's dollar climbed 0.2 percent to $1.0726 after touching $1.0757, the most since Sept. 1.

Commodities

• Oil traded near the lowest in six weeks as U.S. crude stockpiles increased more than estimated and gasoline use fell to a 10-year low.
  • Crude for March delivery was at $97.40 a barrel, down 21 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:55 p.m. Singapore time.

• Gold advanced to the highest level in eight weeks, gaining alongside equities and other commodities, as global manufacturing improved, weakening the dollar and boosting demand for alternative investments. .
  • Gold rallied as much as 0.5 percent to $1,751.97 an ounce, the most expensive since Dec. 8, and traded at $1,746.30 at 1:20 p.m. in Singapore.

Equities

• Asian stocks markets jumped Thursday, after surveys signaled that global manufacturing improved in January and Facebook filed for what's likely to be the biggest-ever market debut for an Internet stock.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.2 percent to 124.57 as of 1:45 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for its highest close since Oct. 28.

• U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a four-day decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, amid signs that manufacturing across the world is strengthening.
  • The S&P 500 increased 0.9 percent to 1,324.09 at 4 p.m. New York time, following the biggest January advance in 15 years.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 83.55 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,716.46, trimming an earlier 152-point gain that sent it above its highest close since May.

• European (SXXP) stock advanced to a six- month high, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index extending its best start to a year since 1998, as gauges of manufacturing increased from America to the euro area to China.
  • The Stoxx 600 rose 2 percent to 259.51 at the close in London, its highest level since August.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT