Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro fell against the greenback amid speculation a slowing economy in the region will prompt the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy.
  • The dollar rose to $1.4346 per euro as of 6 a.m. in London from $1.4376 in New York yesterday.


• USD/JPY The U.S. currency held a three-day decline against the yen before Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley is due to speak on the regional economy on Aug. 12.
  • The yen traded at 76.94 per dollar from 76.96.

• GBP/USD The pound weakened yesterday against the dollar after manufacturing unexpectedly fell in June and the trade deficit widened. It started to regain ground late last night before declining again in the early trading hours of this morning.
  • U.K. factory output declined 0.4 percent in June from the previous month, when it rose 1.8 percent.
  • Sterling was trading $1.62765 around 7:30 a.m. London time after reaching $1.61740 on Tuesday.

Commodities

• Gold futures gained for a third day after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low through mid-2013, boosting demand for the metal as a haven investment.
  • The metal for immediate delivery gained 0.9 percent to $1,755.90 an ounce.
  • Gold for December delivery climbed as much as 1.6 percent to $1,770 an ounce on the Comex in New York and was at $1,758.10 as of 10:12 a.m. Singapore time.

• Oil bounced back as investors bet fuel demand will increase amid shrinking stockpiles and comments by the Federal Reserve that it is prepared to use a range of methods to boost the economy.
  • Crude for September delivery advanced as much as $3.13, or 4 percent, to $82.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $81.28 at 2:14 p.m. Sydney time.

Equities

• U.S. stocks rose as the Federal Reserve said it was prepared to use a range of tools to bolster the economy following yesterday's rout in equities.
  • The S&P 500 jumped 4.7 percent to 1,172.53 at 4 p.m. in New York, after falling as much as 1.6 percent.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 429.92 points, or 4 percent, to 11,239.77.


• European stocks snapped a seven-session losing streak Tuesday, closing higher as investors stepped in to buy beaten-down shares after recent dramatic declines.
  • Car maker BMW was up 6.3% in Frankfurt, and telecom-equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent surged 9.2% in Paris.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rallied 2.1% to 5175.50.
  • Germany's DAX fell 0.1% to 5917.08 and CAC 40 index rose 1.6% to 3176.19.

• Asian stocks rebounded from a two- week decline after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low through mid-2013 and said it may use other tools to bolster the world's biggest economy.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2.5 percent to 123.43 as of 2:47 p.m. in Tokyo today.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose 1 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 3.1 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT