Currencies

• EUR/USDThe dollar fell against the euro Thursday, after a report Germany and France had reached a deal over a Greek aid plan ahead of a key euro-zone summit in Brussels to address the region's sovereign-debt crisis..
  • The euro advanced to $1.4266 as of 6:04 a.m. in London from $1.4215 in New York yesterday


• USD/JPY The dollar decreased versus the yen, but started to rise in the early trading hours of today.
  • It bought ¥78.83 around 7:30 a.m. London time, compared with ¥78.76 late Wednesday.


• GBP/USD The British pound kept rising against the U.S. dollar in the early trading hours of Thursday.
  • Sterling was trading $1.6185 around 7:30 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold futures fell for a second day as progress toward a U.S. debt deal and stability in equities markets eased investor demand for precious metals as a refuge.
  • Immediate-delivery bullion was little changed at $1,601.70 an ounce at 11:12 a.m. in Singapore.

• Oil traded near the highest close in a week in New York as shrinking U.S. stockpiles countered signs manufacturing may have contracted in China, the world's second- biggest crude user.
  • Crude for September delivery was at $98.45 a barrel, up 5 cents, at 1:52 p.m. Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Equities

• U.S. stocks fell as concern the government will fail to increase the debt limit overshadowed higher-than-estimated earnings at Apple Inc. (AAPL).
  • United Technologies Corp. (UTX) lost 1.8 percent as Boeing Co. (BA) picked a rival engine maker to upgrade its 737 jet.
  • The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 1,325.84 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 15.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,571.91.


• European stocks gained for a second day as speculation grew that U.S. lawmakers will agree to increase the nation's debt ceiling and banks rallied before tomorrow's European Union summit on the region's debt crisis.
  • Dexia SA (DEXB) and Commerzbank AG (CBK) jumped more than 6 percent and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world's largest mining company, gained 1.7 percent.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent.
  • France's CAC 40 rose 1.61 percent and Germany's DAX advanced 0.4 percent.

• Asian stocks rose after France and Germany agreed on a joint position to solve Greece's debt crisis ahead of a summit today, reducing uncertainty over the earnings outlook for financial companies.
  • Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest public traded lender by market value, gained 0.8 percent in Tokyo.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1 percent to 136.91 as of 10:14 a.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose 0.04 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.13 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT