Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro fell for a third day before Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces a budget vote amid pressure to quit and a surge in borrowing costs, stoking concern the region's debt crisis is spreading.
  • The euro lost 0.2 percent to $1.3747 as of 6:50 a.m. London time from yesterday in New York.

• USD/JPY The yen advanced as Asian stocks dropped for a second day, increasing demand for haven assets.
  • The dollar was little changed at 78.04 yen.

• AUD/USD The Australian dollar was slightly lower late Tuesday as investors held their breath ahead of the start of European trading with political upheaval and more budgetary crisis in prospect in both Italy and Greece.
  • At 0500 GMT, the Australian dollar was trading at US$1.0318, down from US$1.0353 late Monday.

Commodities

• Gold futures rallied 2%, as a uncertain outlook on Europe's efforts to stem the region's debt crisis triggered demand for safe-haven assets.
  • The contract for November delivery gained $35, or 2%, to settle at $1,790.30 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• Oil traded near the highest in three months in New York as signs of shrinking crude supplies in the U.S. countered concern that Europe will struggle to contain its debt crisis.
  • Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, dropped 4.4 percent, data from DigitalGlobe Inc. showed.
  • Crude for December delivery was at $95.75 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 23 cents, at 2:35 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• US Stocks rose as the European Central Bank's Juergen Stark said the region's debt crisis will be under control in two years.
  • Home Depot Inc. (HD) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) gained at least 2.6 percent for the biggest advances in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
  • The S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent to 1,261.12 at 4 p.m. New York time.
  • The Dow increased 85.15 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,068.39 yesterday.


• European Stocks dropped, as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi struggled to hold power before a budget vote and Greece worked on plans to form a new government.
  • Stocks pared losses as Berlusconi's former spokesman Giuliano Ferrara said the Italian premier is likely to decide on his political future "within hours," with his formal resignation coming next week after he secures parliamentary approval of austerity and economic-growth measures.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3.
  • France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX Index lost 0.6 percent.

• Asian stocks dropped for a second day ahead of a parliamentary vote in Italy that will show whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has enough support to stay in power and implement austerity measures.
  • Sony Corp. (6758), an electronics maker that gets about 21 percent of its sales from Europe, fell 4.1 percent in Tokyo.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.8 percent to 118.86 as of 4:05 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average dropped 1.3 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 0.1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.2 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT