Currencies

• EUR/USD The 17-nation currency declined against the dollar as Greece awaits a decision on its next round of rescue funding
  • German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen, said yesterday that a new tranche of aid for Greek will need to wait until European and International Monetary Fund officials are satisfied with Athens' fiscal progress.
  • The currency sank to $1.3376 around 7 a.m. London time.
  
  

• USD/JPY The yen strengthened versus the dollar as Belgium prepares to sell bonds today amid concern the euro area's debt woes will drive up funding costs.
  • The dollar was at 76.42 yen from 76.61 yen.
  
  

• GBP/USD The British currency increased on Friday against the dollar and we see this steady recovery on Monday morning trading hours.
  • The pound was trading at $1.5446 around 7:30 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold fell sharply on Friday and the decline continued on Monday early trading hours after investor sales following routs in global equity and commodity markets.
  • Gold futures for December delivery fell $101.90, or 5.9 percent, to settle at $1,639.80 at 1:51 p.m. on the Comex in New York.

• Oil declined and kept trading at its lowest point in weeks as investors speculated Europe's sovereign debt crisis will cut fuel demand amid ample supplies.
  • Crude for November delivery was at $79.90 a barrel, down 5 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:31 p.m. Sydney time.

Equities

• US Stocks edged slightly higher on Friday, as a pledge from global officials to maintain financial stability eased some investor anxiety.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 6.87 points, or 0.6%, to 1136.43.
  • The Dow, which swung between gains and losses for much of Friday's session, closed up 37.65 points, or 0.4%, to 10771.48.


• European stocks tumbled as the Federal Reserve said it sees "significant downside risks" for the economy and also on speculation that the debt crisis won't be resolved by policy makers.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 5.6 percent.
  • Germany's DAX Index declined 6.8 percent and France's CAC 40 dropped 7.3 percent.

• Asian stocks fell on concern Europe won't resolve its debt crisis and as companies from Nippon Electric Glass Co. to China Yurun Food Group Ltd. (1068) predicted lower earnings.
  • Nippon Electric Glass sank 10 percent after cutting its profit forecast and China Yurun Food plunged 20 percent.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.3 percent to 110.32 at 11:57 a.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average tumbled 1.7 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.5 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT