Currencies

• EUR/USD The 17-nation currency rose against all of its 16 major counterparts this week before euro-area finance ministers meet today, with prospects the European Central Bank is likely to lend U.S. currency to euro-area banks.
  • The ECB said it will lend dollars to banks in the euro zone in a series of three-month loans.
  • The shared currency traded at $1.3857 from $1.3877.
  
  

• USD/JPY The dollar held yesterday's advance versus the yen before a report forecast to show U.S. consumer confidence this month rebounded from the lowest since November 2008.
  • The dollar was at 76.82 yen from 76.70 yesterday.
  
  

• GBP/USD The British pound rose up to $1.5865 yesterday, extending gains after the ECB announcement and up from $1.5777 late Wednesday.
  • U.K. August retail sales fell 0.2% in August, matching forecasts.
  • It was trading at $1.5801 around 7:00 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold slid to its lowest level in three weeks as a global effort to boost the liquidity of European banks reduced safe-haven demand for the precious metal.
  • Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 1.5 percent to $1,762.68 an ounce, the lowest level since Aug. 26, and was at $1,769 at 2:37 p.m. in Melbourne.

• Oil rose in New York as investors speculated that a plan to contain Europe's debt crisis will boost fuel demand amid falling supplies.
  • Crude for October delivery climbed as much as 38 cents to $89.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $89.53 at 3 p.m. Sydney time.

Equities

• US Stocks rallied as the ECB said it coordinated with the Fed, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank to extend three-month loans to euro-area banks.
  • Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) added more than 3 percent.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 1.7 percent to 1,209.11 at 4 p.m. New York time.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 186.45 points, or 1.7 percent, to 11,433.18.


• European stocks soared on Thursday after a dollar-liquidity effort by the world's major central banks eased some pressure off European banks' funding problems.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index closed up 2.1% at 5337.54.
  • Germany's DAX closed up 3.1% at 5508.24 and France's CAC 40 closed 3.3% higher at 3045.62.

• Asian stocks rose after the European Central Bank and international policy makers coordinated to lend dollars to euro-area banks, increasing confidence the region's debt crisis may be contained.
  • Samsung Electronics Co jumped 4.7 percent in Seoul while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan's largest lender by market value, increased 3.6 percent in Tokyo.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2.2 percent to 120.45 as of 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 2.1 percent today.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index increased 0.4 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT