Currencies

• EUR/USD: The pair ended a strongly bearish session yesterday after Germany sold 4.06 billion of euros of 10-year bonds below the targeted quantity of 5 billion of euros, which revived debt concerns and led the sentiment to deteriorate.
  • The common currency slid 0.2 percent to $1.2921

• GBP/USD: On Wednesday, the pair fell after three consecutive sessions of rise as concerns from the euro area enhanced demand on the dollar as a refuge.
  • The pair dropped to as low to 1.5579 despite the improvement in U.K. data.

• USD/JPY: The pair dropped to as low as 76.60 for the fifth consecutive day reaching its lowest level in seven weeks, as the US dollar continued its downside movements against most of its major counterparts.

Commodities

• Oil traded near the highest price in almost eight months in New York as speculation that sanctions against Iran will curb crude supplies countered concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen and slow demand.
  • Crude for February delivery was at $103.28 a barrel, up 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:59 p.m. in Singapore.

• Gold prices inclined though the U.S dollar strengthened with concerns bouncing back to market at yesterday early morning and positive economic data that was released from Euro Zone.
  • The $1,550 has held yesterday as good support level.

Equities

• Asian stocks (MXAPJ) retreated, snapping a two-day rally, after Australia’s services industry shrank and the euro weakened ahead of France’s plans to sells as much as 8 billion euros ($10.4 billion) of debt today.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5 percent.
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) lost 0.8.

• US stocks erased an early loss to finish little changed, leaving the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the highest level since July, as improving sales at retailers and carmakers helped offset lower-than-forecast factory orders.
  • The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent.

• European (SXXP) stocks retreated from a five-month high as UniCredit (UCG) SpA’s rights offer boosted concern that banks will need to raise more capital to weather the region’s debt crisis.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) fell 0.6 percent.
  • U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index (UKX) slipped 0.6.
  • Germany’s DAX Index lost 0.9 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT