Currencies

• EUR/USD weekend against almost all of its 16 major counterparts before Greek leaders respond today to demands by International creditors on economic measures.
  • The single currency shed 0.4 percent in early Asian trade to stand at $1.3105, having fallen as far as $1.3075 in thin early trade. Immediate support is seen at $1.3078, its 55-day moving average, ahead of $1.3023.

• USD/JPY Asian currencies snapped a four-day advance on concern recent gains underestimated the risks to global growth from Europe's still unresolved debt crisis.
  • The Yen has advanced 3.4% and the dollar has gained an 1.2%, pushin the Ye's value higher, creating a month new high.

• AUD/USD The cost of protecting Australian bonds from default fell, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Australia index declined eight basis points to 141 basis points, according to National Australia Bank
  • Australia's dollar weakened 0.5 percent to $1.0727 after a government report showed retail spending. unexpectedly declined, adding to the case for the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates tomorrow. New Zealand's dollar fell 0.7 percent to 83.10 cents.

Commodities

• Oil fell from a three-day high on concern Greece's steps to avert a financial collapse may fall short, threatening Europe's economy and demand for fuel. Futures dropped as much as 0.8 percent before a deadline for Greece to accept terms demanded by international lenders on a bailout package. Brent oil's premium to West Texas Intermediate widened an eighth day after militants in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, attacked and damaged a pipeline belonging to a unit of Italy.
  • Futures for March delivery slid as much as 78 cents to $97.06 a barrel in electronic trading on NYMEX and were at $97.25 at 2:51 p.m. Singapore time. The contract rose $1.48 to $97.84 on Feb. 3, the highest close since Jan. 31. Prices are down 1.6 percent this year.

• Spot Gold rebounded on Monday as Asian buyers rushed to snatch bargains after a nearly 2-percent drop in the previous session, while uncertainty ahead of a deadline for Greece to accept the terms of a new bailout deal also supported prices.
  • Spot gold gained 0.5 percent to $1,733.75 an ounce by 1:14 a.m. ET. U.S. gold edged down 0.2 percent to $1,736.40.

Equities

• Asian stocks rose, with a regional benchmark index (CRY) set to extend its longest streak of weekly advances since 2010, after U.S. unemployment unexpectedly fell, boosting the earnings outlook for Asian exporters.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.4 percent to 124.83 as of 3:19 p.m. in Tokyo, paring an earlier gain of 1 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.1 percent, while the broader Topix Index advanced 1.2 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 1.1 percent.

• US stocks sentiment has deteriorated even as the S&P 500 rose 99 percent since March 9, 2009. The 106 percent expansion in U.S. earnings during the last nine quarters, the most since 1987, helped fuel the rally. For the period ended Dec. 31, 67 percent of companies in the S&P 500 beat analyst profit estimates as earnings advanced 3.3 percent.

• European (SXXP) stocks dropped, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index trimming a six-month high, as Greece neared a deadline on a funding agreement. U.S. index futures fell, while Asian shares rose.
  • The Stoxx 600 rose 4 percent in January for its second consecutive month of gains, struggling a tentative deal with party leaders to boost economic competitiveness and extend spending cuts after Euro-area finance chiefs told them an increase in the 130 Billion Euro ($170 billion) aid package wasn't forthcoming.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT