Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro traded 0.3 percent from a one-week low against the dollar after a summit of European Union leaders failed to forge a unanimous accord, damping prospects for a rapid resolution to the region’s debt crisis.
  • Europe’s common currency fetched $1.3334 as of 2:18 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.3341 yesterday and has declined 0.4 percent since Dec. 2.

• AUD/USD Australian dollar rose to $1.0194 as of 1:31 p.m. Sydney time from $1.0167 yesterday in New York.

• NZD/USD New Zealand dollars fell to one-week lows on speculation a European summit will fail to push the region’s debt crisis toward a resolution, damping demand for higher-yielding assets.
  • New Zealand’s currency retreated 0.6 percent to 76.81 U.S. cents, after sliding to as low as 76.60, also the weakest since Nov. 30.

Commodities

• Gold traders are more bullish as investors buy metal at the fastest pace in a year to protect their wealth from Europe’s escalating debt crisis.
  • Bullion rose 20 percent to $1,712.70 an ounce this year on the Comex in New York, and reached a record $1,923.70 in September.


• Oil fell, heading for the biggest weekly decline since September, as investors speculated that fuel demand will falter as Europe’s leaders struggle to contain its sovereign debt crisis.
  • Crude for January delivery dropped as much as 75 cents to $97.59 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $98.01 at 1:35 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S Stocks fell, snapping a three- day gain, as the European Central Bank damped speculation it would boost debt purchases and amid a report Germany rejected some proposals to fight the crisis at a summit of leaders.
  • The S&P 500 Index retreated 2.1 percent.
  • The Dow lost 198.67 points

• German stocks (UKX) retreated for a third day after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi denied he had signaled the ECB will step up government-bond purchases in a speech last week.
  • The benchmark DAX (DAX) Index dropped 2 percent.
  • Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, Germany’s biggest banks, lost 4.3 percent.

• Asian stocks fell for a second day amid economic reports indicating Europe’s debt crisis is contributing to slower growth in Japan, South Korea and China.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 2 percent to.
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) sank 1.5 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT