Currencies

• EUR/USD The 17-nation currency declined versus the dollar as economic data added to signs that global growth is slowing, supporting demand for haven currencies.
  • The dollar climbed to $1.3542 per euro from $1.3597.
  
  

• USD/JPY The yen gained against all of its major peers amid speculation Japanese exporters are repatriating overseas earnings before the first half of the fiscal year ends today.
  • Japanese currency gained against the dollar to 76.58 yen from 76.83 yen.
  
  

• GBP/USD The pound rose to a one-week high versus the dollar yesterday but lost ground again in the early trading hours of Friday.
  • It was trading $1.558 around 7:30 a.m. London time before reaching $1.5671 yesterday.

Commodities

• Gold is seen ranging from yesterday as signs of progress in Europe's debt crisis struggled to convince investors to leave the sidelines and return to the precious-metals market.
  • Yesterday, gold futures for December delivery fell 80 cents to settle at $1,617.30 on the Comex in New York.

• Oil rose as investors speculated U.S. fuel demand will increase on signs the economy of the world's biggest crude user is expanding faster than estimated.
  • Crude for November delivery gained as much as $1.09, or 1.3 percent, to $83.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $82.94 at 3:55 p.m. Sydney time.

Equities

• US Stocks rose as lower- than-estimated claims for unemployment benefits and helped offset losses by consumer and technology shares.
  • Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed.
  • The S&P 500 added 0.8 percent to 1,160.40 at 4 p.m. New York time.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 143.08 points, or 1.3 percent, to 11,153.98.


• European stocks were mostly ranging yesterday.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index retreated 0.40%.
  • Germany's DAX Index increased 1.10% and France's CAC 40 Index increased 1.07%.

• Asian stocks dropped as U.S. economic reports failed to ease investor concerns that growth in the world's largest economy is weakening.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.9 percent to 113.10 as of 1:35 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average lost 0.4 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) dropped 2.1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.4 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT