Currencies

• USD/CHF The dollar fell to a record versus the Swiss franc as President Barack Obama said the burgeoning U.S. debt threatens to do "serious" damage to the economy.
  • The dollar dropped to 80.13 Swiss centimes as of 6:46 a.m. in London from 80.61 in New York yesterday. It earlier reached an all-time low of 80.06 centimes.

• USD/JPY U.S. currency slid below 78 yen for the first time since March.

Commodities

• Gold traded within 0.6 percent of an all-time high as U.S. lawmakers remained deadlocked on how to tackle the country's debt crisis and avert a default before an Aug. 2 deadline, stoking demand for a protection of wealth.
  • Immediate-delivery bullion was little changed at $1,615.53 an ounce at 2:27 p.m. in Singapore after President Barack Obama said that the nation's burgeoning debt levels threatened to do "serious" damage to the economy unless tackled through compromise. Spot gold advanced to a record $1,624.07 yesterday.

• Oil rose as President Barack Obama's warning that the U.S. debt stalemate threatens to damage the economy weakened the dollar, boosting the appeal of commodities and countering concern the crisis will hurt demand.
  • Crude for September delivery climbed as much as 40 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $98.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $99.52 at 12:46 p.m. Singapore time

Equities

• U.S. stocks retreated, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down from a two-week high, as Republicans and Democrats wrangled over separate plans to raise the federal debt limit and avoid a government default.
  • The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to 1,337.43 at 4 p.m. in New York after slumping as much as 1 percent. The index rallied to within 1.4 percent of a three-year high last week.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 88.36 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,592.80 today.


• In Europe index futures were little changed as UBS AG (UBSN) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) reported earnings that missed analyst estimates while Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY) exceeded projections. U.S.
  • FTSE 100 Index (UKX) futures slipped 0.2 percent.

• Asian bank stocks rose as forecasts for higher earnings at companies from Canon Inc. to Baidu Inc. countered concerns the deadlock on the U.S. debt ceiling could derail the global economic recovery.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.1 percent 139.14 as of 2:33 p.m. in Tokyo. About two stocks rose for each that fell on the gauge.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.6 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT