Gold up 2 percent as dollar drops, physical demand rises

Gold rose around 2 percent on Tuesday as the dollar fell and the previous session's two-percent slide triggered physical buying interest among Asian investors, though prices remain under pressure from all-time highs in the U.S. equity markets. Physical buying gathered pace in Europe and China on Tuesday, traders said, supporting prices after dollar strength had knocked them lower. In addition, sales of gold and silver investment coins...

Yen Drops to Weakest in 7 Years on Early Election Speculation

The yen fell to a seven-year low versus the dollar on speculation Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering postponing a planned sales-tax increase and preparing to call early elections next month. Russias ruble fell as nations threaten to tighten sanctions, while the Swiss franc touched the strongest level versus the euro in two years. Brazils real fell for the first time in three days as re-elected President Dilma Rousseff considered...

U.S. Stocks Extend All-Time High With Fifth Day of Gains

U.S. stocks were little changed, with benchmark indexes extending all-time highs, as gains in homebuilder shares helped offset losses among industrial companies. The Standard & Poors 500 Index (SPX) rose 0.1 percent to 2,039.75 at 4 p.m. in New York for a fifth straight gain, the longest rally since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.06 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to a record 17,615.80. It has gained six sessions...

Wall Street little changed after Dow, S&P hit intraday records

U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday after the Dow and S&P 500 managed to touch fresh intraday records for a fifth straight session in early trading. On Monday, the benchmark S&P index had set its 39th new closing high for the year, versus 45 in 2013. The last time the index closed at a record high in four consecutive days was in June, while its last five-day streak was in May 2013. The benchmark has rallied more than...

Europe Stocks Extend Five-Week High as Vodafone Gains on Results

European stocks rose, extending their highest level in more than five weeks, as companies from Vodafone Group Plc to Henkel AG rallied on better-than-estimated financial results and improving forecasts. Vodafone advanced the most in 14 months after saying services revenue fell slower than analysts estimated. That pushed a gauge of telecommunications companies to the highest level since March 2008. Henkel gained 4.6 percent after also...