Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro declined against the dollar and the yen, halting a two-day advance, as a split between France and Germany over Europe's rescue strategy surfaced before finance ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow.
  • The euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.3702 and slid 0.5 percent.

• USD/JPY Gains in the yen were limited as a document showed Japan will increase a fund to help companies cope with a stronger currency.
  • The yen rose 0.1 percent to 76.73 per dollar.

• USD/CAD The Canadian currency had fluctuated as crude oil prices swung between gains and losses. Euro-area officials including French President Nicolas Sarkozy were assembling in Frankfurt to narrow divisions four days before a summit of leaders.
  • Canada's currency fell 0.6 percent to C$1.0205 per U.S. dollar by 5 p.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0085, almost the strongest since Sept. 21. One Canadian dollar buys 97.99 U.S. cents

Commodities

• Silver the best-performing and most-volatile precious metal of the past year, may rebound from a bear market as investors bet on growth in developing nations and an extended European debt crisis.
  • The metal may average $38 an ounce this quarter and rise to a record $42 by the final three months of 2012, compared with $30.89 at 12:21 p.m. in Singapore today, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts.

• Oil dropped a second day as Europe struggled to tame its debt crisis and the Federal Reserve said companies were increasingly pessimistic about the U.S. economy, stoking speculation commodities demand may falter.
  • December futures fell as much as 0.6 percent, extending yesterday's 2.5 percent slump. U.S. fuel use fell 2.2 percent to the lowest since May last week while crude stockpiles shrank, the Energy Department said.

Equities

• US Stocks fell, following yesterday's rally for benchmark gauges, amid concern about the strength of the economy and an impasse over European bailout talks, while Apple Inc. (AAPL) tumbled on disappointing results.
  • The S&P 500 decreased 1.3 percent to 1,209.88 at 4 p.m. New York time.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 72.43 points, or 0.6 percent, to 11,504.62 today.


• Swiss stocks rose snapping a two- day decline, as financial shares advanced following conflicting reports that Europe's biggest economies have reached a deal on enhancing a rescue fund for the region.
  • The Swiss Market Index (SMI), a measure of the biggest and most actively traded companies, climbed 0.3 percent to 5,699.98 at the close in Zurich.

• Asian stocks slid, with the benchmark regional index headed to its lowest close in more than a week, amid uncertainty about European bailout-fund talks and as U.S. companies grew more pessimistic about the outlook for the world's largest economy.
  • Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.6 percent after a report from National Australia Bank Ltd. showed the nation's third- quarter business confidence fell to a three-year low. Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average retreated 1.1 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index fell 1.8 percent. Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.9 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT