Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro dropped against 12 of its 16 major counterparts after Standard & Poor's fourth downgrade of Greece since April 2010 rekindled concern the region's debt crisis is escalating.
  • S&P lowered Greece's credit rating to B from BB- yesterday, saying that further reductions are possible.
  • The euro dropped to $1.4333 from $1.4365, after declining to $1.4255 yesterday


• USD/JPY and the JPY crosses showed no distinct trends with most pairs moving in line with flows in each respective pairing.
  • USD/JPY was steady, fluctuating between 80.15-80.38 and consolidating above 80.00.


• GBP/USD The pound rose against the euro, reaching the strongest level in more than a month, as a report showed U.K. retail sales surged the most in five years in April.
  • The pound appreciated 0.3 percent to 87.26 pence per euro as of 7:15 a.m. in London after reaching 87.21 pence.

Commodities

• Gold declined after Standard & Poor's cut Greece's credit ratings by two levels to B, reigniting haven demand.
  • Immediate-delivery gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,507.98 an ounce.

• Oil slid from a three-day high in New York as investors sold contracts to profit from the biggest price surge since February, amid speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles increased to near the highest two years.
  • Futures dropped as much as 2 percent before an Energy Department report tomorrow that may show inventories climbed for a third week.
  • Crude for June delivery slid as much as $2.09 to $100.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $100.88 at 12:57 p.m. in Singapore.

Equities

• U.S.stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index higher for a second straight day, as commodity prices rebounded from the biggest weekly drop since 2008 and McDonald's Corp. rallied after sales topped estimates.
  • McDonald's, the world's biggest restaurant chain, increased 0.8 percent.
  • The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 1,346.29 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 45.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,684.68 yesterday.


• European stocks retreated after officials agreed to review the terms of Greece's bailout and Standard & Poor's downgraded the nation's credit rating, reigniting concern about the sovereign-debt crisis.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.6 percent.
  • Germany's DAX Index fell 1.1 percent to 7,410.52 and France's CAC 40 slid 1.3 percent to 4,007.26.


• Asian stocks rose as improving earnings among Japanese companies tempered concern that Europe's debt crisis will hold back a global economic recovery.
  • Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest carmaker, slipped 2.4 percent and Canon Inc., a camera maker that gets more than 80 percent of its revenue overseas, sank 2.8 percent.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average was little changed.
  • Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are shut today.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent to 137.95 as of 1:45 p.m. in Tokyo.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT