Currencies

• EUR/USD The EUR/USD is getting some support from a growing consensus the EU will come up with a package to plug the funding crisis in Greece and a resolutely hawkish ECB.
  • The EUR/USD opened around 1.4245 in Asia after it made a strong rebound during the US session following hawkish comments from an ECB member and a reversal higher in commodities and equities but later fell to 1.4185.


• USD/JPY The yen strengthened against all of its 16 major counterparts as stocks and commodities fell, boosting demand for Japan's currency as a refuge.
  • The Japanese currency traded at 80.94 dollar around 4 a.m. London time.


• GBP/USD The pound fell against the dollar yesterday after a report showed manufacturing rose less than estimated, giving the Bank of England scope to hold its main interest rate at a record low for longer to spur growth.
  • The pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.6305 as of 4:36 p.m. in London, a third day of losses.

Commodities

• Gold futures rose as higher energy costs and a weaker dollar boosted demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset. Silver fell.
  • Gold futures for June delivery rose $5.40, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $1,506.80 at 1:41 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
  • Silver futures for July delivery fell 71.8 cents, or 2 percent, to $34.797 an ounce.

• Oil Crude oil rose for a second day in New York.
  • The contract for June delivery climbed as much as 41 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $99.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile.

Equities

• U.S.stocks advanced, erasing the second straight decline for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as the dollar fell and commodities rebounded from an early slump triggered by China's efforts to curb lending.
  • Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and Schlumberger Ltd. rose at least 1.5 percent and Symantec Corp., the biggest maker of security software, climbed 5.2 percent after forecasting higher revenue than analysts estimated.
  • The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 1,348.65 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65.89 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,695.92.


• European stocks fell led by a selloff in metal and oil producers as commodities extended yesterday's rout.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid 0.5 percent to 5,944.96.
  • France's CAC 40 Index dropped 0.9 percent to 4,023.29 and Germany's DAX Index fell 0.7 percent to 7,443.95.


• Asian stocks fell for a second day as Japanese companies reported earnings that were hurt by the nation's worst earthquake and China bolstered measures to combat inflation.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.4 percent to 9,576.79 as of 2:06 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.4 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT