Currencies
- EUR/USD The dollar fell against 14 of its 16 major counterparts as advancing stocks damped demand for safer assets.
- The U.S. currency dropped 0.2 percent to $1.3349 per euro as of 1:50 p.m. Tokyo time from the closing level in New York yesterday.
- AUD/USD The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart, erasing an earlier decline.
- The so-called Aussie gained 0.2 percent to 99.23 U.S. cents as of 2:44 p.m. in Sydney, after dropping as much as 0.4 percent to 98.63 cents.
- USD/JPY The yen fell against all its major peers as Asian stocks rallied a second day and on prospects Japanese policy makers will do more to stem currency gains..
- The yen slid 0.3 percent to 78.19 per dollar as of 10:40 a.m. in Tokyo and reached 78.29, the weakest level since Nov. 2.
Commodities
- Copper rose the most in a month as a proposed framework for a bailout fund in Europe boosted prospects that the region will tame a debt crisis that has slowed economic growth and demand for raw materials.
- Copper futures for March delivery climbed 2.7 percent to close at $3.3715 a pound at 1:14 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Oct. 27.
- Oil pared its earlier decline in New York..
- Crude for January delivery was at $98.13 a barrel, down 8 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 5:20 p.m. Sydney time, after earlier sliding as much as 1 percent.
Equities
- Swiss Stocks (SMI) advanced, rebounding from their biggest weekly slump since August, amid rising speculation that euro-area leaders are taking steps to stem the region’s debt crisis.
- The Swiss Market Index, a measure of the biggest and most actively traded companies, rose 2.4 percent to 5,522.66 at the close in Zurich.
- US stocks rose, snapping a seven- day decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after Thanksgiving retail sales climbed to a record amid speculation European leaders will boost efforts to end the debt crisis.
- The Dow rose 291.23 points, or 2.6 percent, to 11,523.01.
- Asian stocks(MXAP) rose, sending the region’s benchmark index toward its biggest two-day gain in a month, as valuations rebound from near a two-year low ahead of a meeting by European finance ministers seeking a resolution to the debt crisis.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.8 percent to 113.08.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 2.3%
Sources: Bloomberg, FT
