Currencies

• EUR/USD came under heavy pressure through the Asian morning due to Trichet’s moments on inflation that were interpreted as not being as hawkish as usual..
  • The dollar edged slightly lower on Monday as investors refrained from betting aggressively for or against the U.S. currency ahead of a key Federal Reserve policy meeting this week.
  • Late Monday, the euro was at $1.4579 from $1.4563 late Friday.


• USD/JPY and the JPY crosses traded lower from the Asian get-go with JPY crosses leading the way down.
  • USD/JPY was at 81.81 from 81.87.


• GBP/USD The British pound bought $1.6503, edging down from $1.6512 Thursday, when it hit a 16-month high.

Commodities

• Gold Commodities snapped a four-day winning streak on speculation the Federal Reserve may end its bond-buying program and as China tightened its credit policy.
  • Gold lost as much as 0.8 percent to $1,495.75 an ounce after climbing to a record $1,518.32 yesterday.

• Oil declined, as speculation that global supplies are sufficient prompted investors to sell contracts after yesterday’s rally to a 31-month high.
  • Oil also dropped as the dollar index strengthened, reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency.
  • Oil for June delivery fell as much as $1.16 to $111.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $111.38 at 1:04 p.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S.stocks fell, as lower commodity prices drove down energy and raw-material producers and Kimberly-Clark Corp. cut its profit forecast.
  • The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 1,335.25 at 4 p.m. in New York.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 26.11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,479.88.


• European stocks were closed on April 25 for holidays.
  • Peugeot and L’Oreal rose at least 3 percent as sales beat the average analyst estimate at Europe’s second-biggest carmaker and the world’s largest cosmetics maker.
  • The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.07 percent to 6,018.30.
  • Germany’s DAX Index increased 0.64 percent to 7,295.49.
  • France’s CAC 40 Index rose 0.43 percent to 4,021.88.


• Asian stocks declined for a second day as companies from Nintendo Co. to Nidec Corp. reported earnings that missed analyst estimates and after commodity prices dropped..
  • Nintendo, the world’s largest maker of video-game players, sank 3.4 percent in Tokyo, while Nidec, a maker of motors for hard- disk drives, slid 2 percent.
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 1.3 percent
  • China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Index fell 1.1 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT