Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro erased a decline against the dollar after a Greek government official told reporters in Athens today that the Cabinet decided to give Prime Minister George Papandreou unanimous backing for his plans to hold a referendum.
  • The euro traded at $1.3704 as of 10:07 a.m. Tokyo time from $1.3637 earlier today and $1.3703 yesterday in New York.

• USD/JPY The yen advanced against 14 of its 16 major counterparts as renewed speculation Europe's debt crisis is worsening boosted appetite for safer assets.
  • The Japanese currency rose 0.3 percent to 78.14 per dollar after tumbling as much as 4.6 percent on Oct. 31, when Japan sold the currency.

• USD/CAD Canada's dollar depreciated the most in five weeks as renewed concern the European rescue plan will unravel discouraged demand for higher-yielding assets.
  • Canada's currency decreased 1.9 percent, the most since Sept. 22, to C$1.0204 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto.

Commodities

• Gold has recently been moved to the more riskier assets category along with other commodities and stocks, and worries about the European sovereign-debt crisis sent traders scurrying for assets considered to be relatively safe and.
  • The contract for November delivery fell $13.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,711 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• Oil fell in New York for a fourth day, on concern a Greek referendum on Europe's rescue plan will worsen the region's debt crisis and restrain economic growth.
  • Oil for December delivery fell as much as $1.22 to $90.97 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $91.98 at 2:15 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• US Stock tumbled for a second consecutive session, as Greece's plans for a referendum fueled worries that the euro-zone bailout plan might fall apart.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index sank 35.02 points, or 2.8%, to 1218.28.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 297.05 points, or 2.5%, to 11657.96.


• European Stocks tumbled as investors worried that the Greek debt deal hammered out last week was on the verge of collapse after the Greek prime minister surprised the market by announcing a proposal for a referendum on the bailout package.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 2.2% lower at 5421.57.
  • Germany's DAX fell 5% to 5834.51 and France's CAC-40 closed down 5.4% at 3068.33.

• Asian stocks fell as concern heightened that Europe's bailout of Greece will unravel and a report showed U.S. manufacturing slowed.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.9 percent to 118.02 as of 3:57 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average decreased 2.2 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.7 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.9 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT