Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro fell against the dollar, amid protests in the streets of Athens before Greece's parliament votes on an austerity package needed to secure more financial aid.
  • The euro fell to $1.4352 at 12:25 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.4371 in New York yesterday, when it reached $1.4397.


• USD/JPY The dollar traded near the strongest in three weeks versus the yen after Treasury yields jumped yesterday, enhancing the attraction of U.S. assets.
  • The dollar fetched 81.02 yen from 81.12 and was trading at 81.047 around 7a.m. London time.


• GBP/USD Britain's pound fell against most of its major peers as traders pared bets on higher interest rates after three Bank of England policy makers signaled their concern on the growth outlook.
  • The pound was little changed at $1.6018 yesterday but it decreased further this morning and was trading at 1.5993 around 7 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold started to increase on Tuesday as concern about protests and strikes in Greece before the government's vote on budget cuts boost demand for the metal as an alternative investment.
  • Gold for August delivery gained 0.2 percent to $1,503.5 an ounce at 9:16 a.m. in Singapore.
  • The immediate-delivery contract, which is expiring today, was little changed at $1,503.25 an ounce.

• Oil traded near the highest in four days in New York on speculation U.S. crude inventories declined and steps by Greece's government to prevent a default will bolster Europe's economy.
  • Greece's parliament will vote today on Prime Minister George Papandreou's plan to cut spending and sell assets.
  • Crude for August delivery was at $92.74 a barrel, down 15 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:01 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S. stocks rose amid optimism European nations will take action to prevent a Greek default and after Nike Inc. (NKE)'s earnings beat estimates.
  • Nike rallied 10 percent as higher North American sales helped the world's largest sporting-goods company top profit projections.
  • The S&P 500 advanced 1.3 percent to 1,296.67 at 4 p.m. in New York yesterday.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 145.13 points, or 1.2 percent, to 12,188.69.


• European stocks gained as investors speculated that Greek lawmakers will not ignore Prime Minister George Papandreou's call to approve a package of austerity measures.
  • National benchmark indexes gained in all of the western European markets except Iceland and Belgium.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.8 percent.
  • France's CAC 40 Index (CAC) climbed 1.5 percent, while Germany's DAX Index added 0.9 percent.
• Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday on growing optimism that a viable solution to Greece's debt crisis will be found.
  • Cyclical stocks rose on improved risk appetite while strong industrial-production data in Japan supported the Tokyo market.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1 percent to 132.65 as of 1:15 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose 1.1 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.3 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT