Currencies

• EUR/USD The 17-nation currency reached the lowest in a week against the dollar after Spain's Socialist party suffered its worst electoral defeat in more than 30 years and Standard & Poor's on May 20 said it may lower Italy's credit rating.
  • Europe's shared currency dropped to $1.4084 from $1.4161 in New York on May 20 and was around 1.4070 at 6 a.m. London time today.


• USD/JPY The dollar strengthened versus all of its major counterparts as declines in Asian stocks spurred demand for safer assets.
  • The dollar advanced to 81.97 yen from 81.70 yen around 6 a.m. London time.


• GBP/USD Bank of England Chief Economist Spencer Dale said that monetary policy makers should boost interest rates to control inflation, even if Britain's economic recovery isn't yet guaranteed.
  • The pound traded at $1.6213, down from $1.6248.

Commodities

• Gold may decline as Europe's sovereign-debt crisis escalated, triggering a selloff in commodities including oil and base metals while strengthening the dollar.
  • Immediate-delivery gold, which rose as much as 0.5 percent earlier, fell as much as 0.3 percent to $1,508.30 an ounce and traded little changed at $1,509.95 at 1:25 p.m. in Singapore.
  • The June-delivery contract in New York was also little changed at $1,509.30.

• Oil declined in New York as signs of a slowing economy in the U.S. and concern Greece will default on its debt stoked speculation fuel demand may falter.
  • Crude for July delivery lost as much as $1.49 to $98.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $98.65 at 12:44 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S. stocks declined for a third straight week, the longest slump since August, as investors grew more concerned that Greece will default on its debt and reduced earnings forecasts undermined confidence in the economy.
  • The S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 1,333.27 last week.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 83.71 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,512.04.


• European stock fell on Friday and posted a loss for the week, as Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's credit rating, rekindling euro-zone debt worries. Equities in Greece, Spain and Italy fell sharply on the Greek downgrade
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.1% to 279.65.
  • U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% to 5948.49.
  • Germany's DAX dropped 1.2% to end at 7,266.82 and France's CAC 40 Index sank 0.9% to 3,990.85, as shares of Michelin fell 1.7%.


• Asian stocks dropped, as Fitch Ratings cut Greece's credit rating and Standard & Poor's said Italy's rating was at risk, deepening concern over Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
  • Fitch Ratings cut Greece three levels to B+.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.9 percent to 132.07 as of 12:53 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.4 percent.
  • China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.7 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT