Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro fell to near three-week lows against the dollar on Thursday as a key U.S. manufacturing survey outpaced expectations but gained ground in the early trading hours of this morning.
  • The euro was trading $1.42400 around 7:30 a.m. London time after reaching $1.42255 yesterday.
  
  

• USD/JPY The yen gained as a drop in Asian stocks and a report the U.S. will sue banks over mortgage-backed securities boosted demand for refuge currencies.
  • The federal agency that oversees housing U.S. lenders is preparing to file suit against more than a dozen banks for misrepresenting the quality of securities backed by home loans the New York Times said.
  • The dollar fell 0.1 percent to 76.82 yen around 7:30 a.m. London time today.
  
  

• GBP/USD The pound has been ranging from yesterday's close with a little change.
  • The British currency was trading at $1.61772 around 7:30 a.m. London time.
  
  

Commodities

• Gold fell slightly yesterday as better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data limited demand for a refuge asset.
  • The U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI index was at 50.6 from 48.7 last month.
  • Immediate-delivery gold traded little changed at $1,828.28 an ounce at 11:41 a.m. Singapore time.

• Oil dropped as investors speculated a U.S. jobs report will signal the economy is weakening, decreasing fuel demand in the world's biggest crude consumer.
  • Oil for October delivery fell as much as 37 cents to $88.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $88.81 at 1:32 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• US Stocks retreated as financials weakened and investors expressed fear ahead of the government's monthly jobs report.
  • Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) slumped 3.5 percent.
  • The S&P 500 declined 1.2 percent to 1,204.42 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 119.96 points, or 1 percent, to 11,493.57.


• European stocks markets started September on a solid note following stronger-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.4% at 5418.65.
  • France's CAC 40 Index increased 0.3% to3265.83 while Germany's DAX Index shed 0.9% to 5730.63.

• Asian stocks were mostly lower on Friday ahead of reports expected to show the U.S. jobless rate remained above 9 percent, adding to signs growth in the world's largest economy is weakening.
  • Sony Corp., Japan's biggest exporter of consumer electronics, declined 4.8 in Tokyo.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1 percent to 124.18 as of 1:22 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average decreased 1.3 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.3 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.3 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT