Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro dropped versus the U.S. dollar before a report today that economists said will show business confidence in Germany fell for a second month.
  • The 17-nation currency fell to $1.4412 at 10:06 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4442 in New York yesterday.
  
  

• USD/JPY The yen erased an earlier drop against the dollar as Noda said the government will release foreign-currency reserves to a state-run export credit agency to facilitate overseas investment.
  • The yen traded at 76.65 per dollar as of 6:28 a.m. in London from 76.66 in New York yesterday, after earlier falling to as weak as 76.87.
  
  

• AUD/USD Australia's dollar fell against the U.S. currency as concern the global economic recovery is slowing damped demand for higher-yielding assets.
  • The so-called Aussie traded at $1.0494 as of 11:08 a.m. in Sydney from $1.0526 yesterday in New York.
  
  

Commodities

• Gold rebounded after dropping from an all-time high above $1,900 an ounce as investor concern that worsening sovereign-debt crises are exacerbating a global economic slowdown increased demand for a store of value.
  • Immediate-delivery gold advanced as much as 1.4 percent to $1,853.98 before trading at $1,847.07 at 12:21 p.m. in Singapore.

• Oil rose for a second day in New York amid speculation the Federal Reserve will bolster efforts to stimulate the economy.
  • Crude for October delivery rose $1.02 to settle at $85.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
  • Brent oil for October settlement gained 95 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $109.31 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Equities

• US Stocks rallied, driving the Standard & Poor's 500 Index up from the cheapest valuations since 2009, as weaker-than-estimated economic data reinforced optimism the Federal Reserve will act to spur growth.
  • The S&P 500 rose 3.4 percent to 1,162.35 at 4 p.m. in New York, for the biggest rally since Aug. 11.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 322.11 points, or 3 percent, to 11,176.76.


• European stocks rose for a second day amid continuing speculation the Federal Reserve will take action to bolster the economy and as Chinese manufacturing data exceeded forecasts.
  • UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland's biggest bank, advanced 2.1 percent after saying it plans to cut 3,500 jobs to trim costs.

• Asian bank dropped amid concern central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will fail to announce new plans to keep the global economy from slowing and as companies across the region reported mixed results.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8 percent to 119.77 as of 2:35 p.m. in Tokyo, after climbing by the most in five months yesterday and gaining as much as 0.7 percent today.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average dropped 1 percent after swinging between gains and losses as Moody's Investors Service cut the country's credit rating.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT