Currencies

• EUR/USD The dollar snapped yesterday's advance versus the euro after Obama urged Congress to pass his $447 billion plan.
  • Obama proposed a jobs plan that includes infrastructure spending, subsidies to local governments and tax reductions.
  • The dollar fell to $1.3925 per euro as of 12:54 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.3882 in New York yesterday when it rose to $1.3873.
  
  

• USD/JPY The dollar declined against the yen yesterday after President Barack Obama unveiled proposals to create jobs and boost the U.S. economy, damping demand for safer assets.
  • Obama will address a joint session of Congress today on proposals to speed job creation that may inject more than $300 billion into the economy next year.
  • The dollar traded at 77.49 yen around 7:30 a.m. London time.
  
  

• GBP/USD The pound rose from an eight-week low against the dollar and gained versus the euro after the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged.
  • The Official Bank Rate was kept at 0.5%.
  • The U.K. currency strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.6049 after earlier falling to $1.5913.

Commodities

• Gold declined in the early trading hours on optimism a plan by U.S. President Barack Obama will create jobs and stimulate growth, trimming demand for safer assets.
  • Bullion for immediate delivery shed as much as 0.9 percent to $1,853.93 an ounce and was at $1,862.15 at 10:37 a.m. Singapore time.
  • December delivery futures in New York gained 0.4 percent to $1,864.50 an ounce, paring a 0.8 percent advance.

• Oil increased as investors speculated that demand for the fuel will increase after President Barack Obama's job-creation plan and as producers in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated workers ahead of Tropical Storm Nate.
  • BP and Apache Corp. said they were beginning evacuations of some workers in the Gulf because of Nate, a hurricane with top winds.
  • Oil for October delivery gained as much as 45 cents to $89.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $89.08 at 2 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• US Stocks fell as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke disappointed investors by not detailing new plans to boost growth in the world's largest economy.
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Boeing Co. (BA) and DuPont Co. retreated at least 2.1 percent.
  • The S&P 500 fell 1.1 percent to 1,185.90 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 119.05 points, or 1 percent, to 11,295.81.


• European stocks climbed as oil producers and retailers advanced.
  • Total SA (FP) and Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) advanced at least 2.5 percent as oil rose.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 increased 0.4 percent.
  • France's CAC 40 Index rose 0.4 percent while Germany's DAX Index gained less than 0.1 percent.

• Asian stocks fell on declines by Japanese machinery makers and after a report a Chinese province defaulted on its debt.
  • Fanuc Corp. led Japanese machinery makers lower after an industry group said yesterday that machine orders fell.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 121.44 at 3:02 p.m. in Tokyo after rising as much as 0.4 percent.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average slid 0.6 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.3 percent while China's Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.3 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT