Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro rose against the dollar on prospects the European Central Bank will increase interest rates next week to curb inflation and as the immediate risk of default by Greece subsided.
  • ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday policy makers are in "strong vigilance mode," indicating their intention to raise interest rates next week even as Greece struggles to prevent a default
  • The euro rose to $1.4502 at 6:30 a.m. in London from $1.4435 in New York yesterday.


• USD/JPY The dollar headed for a quarterly loss against 15 of its 16 most-traded counterparts amid signs of a slowing U.S. recovery.
  • Against the yen, the dollar dropped to ¥80.43, from ¥80.89 late Wednesday.


• GBP/USD Britain's pound increased against the dollar yesterday and continued its rise on this morning's trading.
  • Sterling rose to $1.6106, from $1.6061 late Wednesday and was trading at $1.60886 around 7:30 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold futures rose on Wednesday as investors continued to seek a safe place to park cash after Greece's approval of austerity measures.
  • Immediate-delivery gold was little changed at $1,511.60 an ounce at 11:12 a.m. in Seoul after losing 0.2 percent earlier.
  • The August-delivery contract was almost unchanged at $1,512 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

• Oil rose for a third day, erasing its decline since the International Energy Agency announced the release of emergency stockpiles.
  • The IEA said, on June 23, it would release 60 million barrels from strategic reserves, prompting a plunge in prices to as low as $89.69.
  • Crude for August delivery rose as much as 67 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $95.44 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $95.29 at 1:21 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S. stocks rose yesterday as Greece passed austerity measures and the Federal Reserve moved to set a less- severe limit on debit-card swipe fees than previously proposed.
  • Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA), the biggest consumer-payment networks, jumped more than 11 percent, as the Fed moved to cap debit-card transaction fees at 21 cents.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.8 percent to 1,307.41 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 72.73 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,261.42 yesterday.


• European stocks rallied the most in three months as Greek lawmakers passed a package of austerity measures needed to secure the next tranche of European Union financial aid.
  • National benchmark indexes rose in all 18 western European markets, except Iceland.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 1.5 percent.
  • France's CAC 40 advanced 1.9 percent and Germany's DAX increased 1.7 percent.


• Asian stocks rose as concern about a banking crisis eased after Greece passed austerity measures and German financial institutions pushed toward an agreement to roll over Greek debt holdings.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3 percent to 135, as of 2:11 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average was little changed.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.3 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT