Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro weakened for a second day against the dollar as European regulators extended bans on short-selling in equity markets in an effort to prevent the region's sovereign-debt crisis from worsening.
  • The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.4379 at 5 p.m. in New York, from $1.4414 yesterday. It touched $1.4328, the lowest level since Aug. 19, after gaining earlier as much as 0.4 percent.
  
  

• USD/CAD Canada's dollar was within 2 cents of trading weaker than its U.S. counterpart as stocks fell on concern Europe's sovereign-debt crisis is harming financial institutions, discouraging demand for higher-yielding assets.
  • The Canadian currency traded at 98.83 cents per U.S. dollar by 5 p.m. in Toronto, compared with 98.71 cents yesterday.
  
  

• AUD/JPY The Australian dollar touched a two- week high against the yen after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said inflation "bears careful watching," easing speculation the central bank will cut interest rates...
  • Australia's dollar climbed to 80.90 yen as of 4:13 p.m. in Sydney from 80.81 yen yesterday in New York, after touching 81.28, the highest since Aug. 8.
  
  

Commodities

• Gold headed for a weekly decline, snapping its longest winning streak in more than four years, as some investors sold the metal after equities rebounded and futures margins were raised for a second time this month.
  • Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.9 percent to $1,757.80 an ounce and was little changed at $1,777.20 at 11:26 a.m. in Singapore.

• Oil headed for the first weekly gain in five on speculation the U.S. will take further steps to bolster the world's largest economy and crude consumer. Gasoline traded near the highest in three weeks as Hurricane Irene threatened to disrupt fuel supply.
  • Crude for October delivery was at $85.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 22 cents, at 1:53 p.m. Singapore time.
  • Brent oil for October settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was at $110.70, up 8 cents, and set for a 1.9 percent climb this week.

Equities

• US Stocks stocks fell, snapping a three- day rally, after jobless claims unexpectedly increased and selling in German futures sparked a rout in global equities.
  • Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the biggest U.S. lender, surged 9.4 percent after saying Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) will invest $5 billion to bolster the company.
  • Apple Inc. (AAPL) decreased 0.7 percent after Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive officer.


• German stocks tumbled, pushing the DAX Index down 4 percent during one 15-minute stretch, as traders rushed to sell futures to hedge equities amid speculation bans on short selling would be extended.

• Asian bank stocks swung between gains and losses ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke at a meeting of central bankers and before reports expected to show growth is slowing in the world's largest economy.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.4 percent to 120.18 as of 2:51 p.m. in Tokyo, after swinging between gains and losses at least eight times.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average gained 0.3.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT