Currencies

• EUR/USD The dollar is poised for a five-day decline against the euro before data forecast to show U.S. new home sales grew at a slower pace.
  • The dollar traded at $1.4308 per euro from $1.4309.


• USD/JPY Japan's currency was set for a weekly loss against all of its major counterparts as BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his colleagues decided to keep a 30-trillion yen ($367 billion) credit program and a 10-trillion yen asset-purchase fund that represent the bank's main policy tools.
  • The dollar was at 81.67 yen from 81.61 yen as of 1:25 p.m. in Tokyo.


• GBP/USD The pound rose from yesterday's drop of $1.613 at around 3 p.m. London time.
  • It fetched $1.6228 as of 6:00 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold and silver futures edged higher in electronic trading during Asian trading hours Friday, with both metals turning positive for the week.
  • o Gold for June delivery rose $3.10 to $1,495.50 an ounce, with the move bringing the week-to-date gains into positive territory, up 0.1%.
  • o Silver for July rose 23 cents to $35.16 an ounce, bringing week-to-date gains to 0.3%.

• Oil rose in New York, trimming its second weekly decline in three, as investors speculated yesterday's slump was exaggerated amid signs fuel demand may be supported in the world's two biggest crude-consuming nations.
  • The June contract, which expires today, gained 52 cents to $98.96.
  • Crude for July delivery, the most-active contract, increased as much as 57 cents to $99.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $99.28 at 12:13 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index higher for a second straight day, as a government report showing a bigger-than-forecast drop in jobless claims bolstered optimism about the economic recovery.
  • The S&P 500 advanced 0.2 percent to 1,343.60 at 4 p.m. in New York yesterday.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45.14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,605.32, erasing an earlier 27-point decline.


• European stock rose for a second day as industrial stocks led gains on the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates will remain low.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.7 percent to 280 at the 4:30 p.m. close in London.
  • U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.6 percent.
  • Germany's DAX Index rallied 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 Index rose 1.3 percent.


• Asian stocks advanced, paring the regional benchmark index's third consecutive weekly decline, as exporters gained after reports showed U.S. jobless claims fell even as manufacturing growth slowed.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent to 134.98 as of 1 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.3 percent while China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both gained 0.1 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT