Currencies

• AUD/USD The Australian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart amid prospects that ebbing price pressures will allow Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens to cut interest rates as soon as tomorrow's policy meeting.
  • The Australian dollar fell 1.5 percent to $1.0536 as of 4:36 p.m. in Sydney from Oct. 28 when it declined 0.3 percent.

• USD/JPY The yen dropped by the most in three years against the dollar as Japan stepped into foreign-exchange markets to weaken the currency for the third time this year after its gains to a postwar record threatened exporters.
  • The Japanese currency sank 4.3 percent as of 6:44 a.m. in London to 79.24 per dollar, after remaining at 79.20 for almost three hours. The yen headed for its biggest closing drop since October 2008. It fell to as low as 79.53 per dollar, the weakest since Aug. 4.

• USD/CAD Canada's dollar registered a fourth weekly advance in the longest streak of gains since March as a plan by Europe's leaders to address the region's debt crisis sparked demand for growth-sensitive assets.
  • Canada's currency touched 98.92 cents per U.S. dollar yesterday in Toronto.

Commodities

• Copper traders and analysts are forecasting an end to the biggest weekly rally since at least 1986 on concern demand will slow in China while Europe's lingering financial crisis limits growth.
  • Copper settled at $8,175 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

• Oil fell in New York on speculation demand will falter after the biggest monthly gain in more than two years and a surge in the dollar. Brent's premium to U.S. crude slid to a four-month low.
  • Crude for December delivery dropped as much as $1 to $92.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $92.41 at 1:27 p.m. Singapore time. Prices slid 0.7 percent on Oct. 28 to $93.32.

Equities

• US Stock futures fell, following a fourth straight weekly advance that left the Standard & Poor's 500 Index poised for the biggest monthly rally since 1974.
  • Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December fell 0.5 percent to 1,274.70 at 9:15 a.m. Tokyo time.


• European Stocks climbed for a fifth week, the longest stretch of gains in 18 months, after the region's leaders struck a deal to enact measures to contain the sovereign debt crisis following months of negotiations.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 4.2 percent to 249 this past week.

• Asian stocks declined, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index heading for its biggest drop in a month, as companies from Acer Inc. to Tohoku Electric Power Co. reported losses and China vowed to maintain property lending curbs.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.7 percent after earlier gaining as much as 1.1 percent after the Japanese government sold the yen to weaken the currency, which had gained to a post-World War II high against the dollar.
  • Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.3 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index fell 1.1, erasing gains of as much as 0.6 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.5 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT