Currencies

• USD/JPY The yen rose against all major peers as stocks reversed an earlier advance and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient monetary easing.
  • The yen climbed 0.8 percent to 101.23 per dollar as of 1:40 p.m. in Tokyo, adding to a 1.1 percent gain yesterday.

• USD/CAD The Canadian dollar gained from a one-year low against its U.S. counterpart amid speculation the Federal Reserve may not taper its monetary stimulus, known as quantitative easing, as soon as some investors anticipated.
  • The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, rose 0.6 percent to C$1.0305 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto after touching C$1.0394, weakest since June 5, 2012. One loonie buys 97.03 U.S. cents.

• USD/INR India’s rupee is poised for a third weekly decline after the Federal Reserve indicated it may slow debt purchases, fuelling concern that fund flows to emerging markets will reduce. Bonds gained for an eighth week..
  • The rupee weakened 1.5 percent this week and 0.3 percent today to 55.75 per dollar as of 10:18 a.m. in Mumbai. It touched 56.0145 yesterday, the lowest level since Sept. 6.

Commodities

• Oil West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a fourth day, extending the biggest weekly drop in more than a month, amid signs of rising U.S. fuel supplies and a global economic slowdown.
  • WTI for July delivery fell as much as 49 cents to $93.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.85 at 3:26 p.m. Sydney time. The volume of all contracts traded was 43 percent below the 100-day average.

• Gold traders are the most bullish in a month after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signalled record stimulus will continue until the economy improves.
  • The metal fell 17 percent to $1,392.19 an ounce in London this year after climbing the past 12 years. Gold is the third-worst performer in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities, after silver and corn.

Equities

• Asian stocks fell, with the region’s benchmark index set for its biggest weekly loss in a year, as the yen strengthened after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient stimulus.
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) lost 2.8 percent after plummeting 7.3 percent yesterday.

• U.S stocks retreated, giving benchmark indexes their first back-to-back drops in one month, as a contraction in China manufacturing offset American housing data and investors weighed Federal Reserve stimulus comments.
  • The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,650.51 in New York, after tumbling as much as 1.2 percent earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 12.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,294.50. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 15 percent above the three-month average.

Currencies

• USD/JPY The yen rose against all major peers as stocks reversed an earlier advance and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient monetary easing.
  • The yen climbed 0.8 percent to 101.23 per dollar as of 1:40 p.m. in Tokyo, adding to a 1.1 percent gain yesterday.

• USD/CAD The Canadian dollar gained from a one-year low against its U.S. counterpart amid speculation the Federal Reserve may not taper its monetary stimulus, known as quantitative easing, as soon as some investors anticipated.
  • The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, rose 0.6 percent to C$1.0305 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto after touching C$1.0394, weakest since June 5, 2012. One loonie buys 97.03 U.S. cents.

• USD/INR India’s rupee is poised for a third weekly decline after the Federal Reserve indicated it may slow debt purchases, fuelling concern that fund flows to emerging markets will reduce. Bonds gained for an eighth week..
  • The rupee weakened 1.5 percent this week and 0.3 percent today to 55.75 per dollar as of 10:18 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 56.0145 yesterday, the lowest level since Sept. 6.

Commodities

• Oil West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a fourth day, extending the biggest weekly drop in more than a month, amid signs of rising U.S. fuel supplies and a global economic slowdown.
  • WTI for July delivery fell as much as 49 cents to $93.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.85 at 3:26 p.m. Sydney time. The volume of all contracts traded was 43 percent below the 100-day average.

• Gold traders are the most bullish in a month after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signalled record stimulus will continue until the economy improves.
  • The metal fell 17 percent to $1,392.19 an ounce in London this year after climbing the past 12 years. Gold is the third-worst performer in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities, after silver and corn.

Equities

• Asian stocks fell, with the region’s benchmark index set for its biggest weekly loss in a year, as the yen strengthened after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient stimulus.
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) lost 2.8 percent after plummeting 7.3 percent yesterday.

• U.S stocks retreated, giving benchmark indexes their first back-to-back drops in one month, as a contraction in China manufacturing offset American housing data and investors weighed Federal Reserve stimulus comments.
  • The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,650.51 in New York, after tumbling as much as 1.2 percent earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 12.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,294.50. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 15 percent above the three-month average.

Currencies

• USD/JPY The yen jumped the most in five weeks against the euro as signs China’s economy is slowing and the prospect of a reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus boosted demand for safer assets.
  • The yen strengthened 1.2 percent to 131.06 per euro at 8:54 a.m. in London after climbing as much as 1.8 percent, the most since April 15. Japan’s currency rose 1.3 percent to 101.87 per dollar after depreciating to 103.74 yesterday, the weakest since October 2008.

• USD/CAD The Canadian dollar rose to a two- week high versus its U.S. peer amid gains in crude oil, the country’s largest export, and speculation the U.S. will maintain stimulus and the European Central Bank will cut interest rates.
  • The currency fell 1 percent to C$1.0367 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0388, the weakest level since June 5, 2012. One loonie buys 96.46 U.S. cents.

• GBP/USD The pound dropped to a 10-week low against the dollar before a government report that analysts said will show the U.K. economy expanded in the first quarter.
  • The pound fell 0.1 percent to $1.5030 at 7:37 a.m. London time after declining to $1.5014, the lowest since March 14.

Commodities

• Oil  West Texas Intermediate oil fell for a third day, extending the biggest decline in three weeks as U.S. gasoline stockpiles gained and manufacturing in China shrank for the first time in seven months.
  • WTI for July delivery fell as much as $1.17 to $93.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.25 at 2:37 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all contracts traded was 11 percent above the 100-day average. Prices slid $1.90 to $94.28 yesterday, the lowest close since May 14.

• Gold rose, snapping two days of losses, after data showed China’s manufacturing contracted in May for the first time in seven months, boosting haven demand as equities fell. Silver, platinum and palladium declined.
  • Bullion for June delivery climbed 0.5 percent to $1,374.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York after falling for nine of the past 10 days. The Dollar Index, a measure against six major peers, retreated 0.2 percent as the yen rallied. The gauge earlier advanced to the highest level since July 2010.

Equities

• Asian stocks sank, with the regional benchmark index headed for the biggest drop since September 2011, as Japanese shares plummeted after China’s manufacturing output unexpectedly contracted and the yen strengthened.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 3.7 percent to 138.16 as of 3:57 p.m. in Tokyo, with about 12 shares falling for each that rose. The measure surged 11 percent this year through yesterday as Japanese shares rallied as the Bank of Japan stepped up stimulus efforts and the U.S. economy improved. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday a premature withdrawal of quantitative easing would put the U.S. economic recovery at risk.

• European stocks dropped as concern grew the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus measures if the U.S. economy improves and as data showed Chinese manufacturing is shrinking. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also fell as Japan’s Topix Index tumbled the most in two years.
  • The Stoxx 600 Index dropped 1.6 percent to 305.52 at 8:05 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge rose 0.2 percent yesterday, extending its highest level since June 2008, after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a testimony to a Joint Committee of Congress in Washington that reducing stimulus measures too soon would endanger economic recovery.

• U.S stocks fell, with benchmark indexes retreating from record highs, as concern grew that the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus efforts if the labor market continues to improve.
  • The S&P (SPX) 500 fell 0.8 percent to 1,655.35 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rallying as much as 1.1 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 80.41 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,307.17. About 8.3 billion shares changed hands today, 32 percent above the three-month average.

Currencies

• EUR/USD The dollar held declines against the euro before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke addresses Congress amid speculation the U.S. hasn’t recovered fast enough to warrant reduction in monetary stimulus.
  • The dollar was little changed at $1.2910 per euro as of 7:07 a.m. in London after declining 0.5 percent over the past two days.

• GBP/USD The pound slid to a six-week low against the dollar after a government report showed inflation slowed more than economists forecast, giving the central bank more room to boost stimulus that tends to weaken a currency.
  • Sterling dropped to the lowest level against the dollar in six weeks yesterday after inflation slowed more than economists forecast, giving the central bank more room to boost stimulus. A government report today will show U.K. retail sales including fuel increased 0.1 percent last month from March when they declined 0.7 percent, according to the median forecast of 25 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

• USD/CAD Canada’s dollar fell to a more than two-month low against its U.S. counterpart amid speculation growth in the world’s largest economy would spur the Federal Reserve to reduce stimulus, known as quantitative easing.
  • The Canadian dollar fell 0.3 percent to C$1.0267 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto after touching C$1.0321, weakest since March 7. One loonie buys 97.40 U.S. cents.

Commodities

• Oil West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after industry data showed U.S. inventories rose for a fourth week, the longest run of gains since February. China’s oil stockpiles climbed for a second month.
  • WTI for July delivery fell as much as 67 cents to $95.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $95.83 at 2:31 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all contracts traded was 50 percent below the 100-day average. June futures expired yesterday after declining 55 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $96.16, the first drop in five days.

• Gold swung between gains and losses as investors weighed the outlook for stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve amid further outflows in investor holdings.
  • Spot gold was little changed at $1,377.23 an ounce at 10:52 a.m. in Singapore, after rising and falling at least 0.3 percent. Prices retreated 1.3 percent yesterday.

Equities

• Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index trading near its highest level since June 2008, as the Bank of Japan maintained its plan to expand the monetary base. Gains were limited by declines at Chinese power producers.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.1 percent to 144.17 as of 3:24 p.m. in Tokyo, paring an earlier gain of 0.6 percent, with almost the same number of stocks rising and falling. The measure surged 11 percent this year through yesterday as U.S. economic data improved and the Japanese central bank took steps to counter deflation.

• European stocks were little changed before European Union leaders meet and U.S. data that may show sales of existing homes climbed to a three-year high in April. U.S. futures and Asian stocks were also little changed.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 309.76 at 8:04 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark closed at the highest level since June 2008 yesterday. It has rallied 11 percent this year as central banks maintained stimulus measures.

• U.S stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, after Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank should continue its bond buying to boost growth.
  • The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) gained 0.2 percent to an all-time high of 1,669.16 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 52.30 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,387.58.