Dollar Tempers Best Annual Gain Since 2000 During Holiday Trade

The dollar weakened for a second day against the yen, following a five-day advance, amid speculation its recent climb was too rapid. The U.S. currency is headed for gains against all of its 16 major counterparts this year for the first time since 2000 as the Federal Reserve moves to raise interest rates next year for the first time since 2006. Australia™s dollar traded within a cent of its post-float low to its New Zealand peer. The ...

Gold Falls for Third Straight Day on U.S. Interest-Rate Outlook

Gold futures declined for the third straight day as gains in the U.S. economy bolstered the case for higher interest rates. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world™s biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, tumbled 1.6 percent yesterday to 712.9 metric tons, the biggest drop since June 2013. That marked the lowest since September 2008. Futures fell 8.4 percent in the...

China Stock Futures Rise on Bets Recent Losses are Excessive

China™s stock-index futures rose amid speculation the benchmark gauge™s biggest two-day loss in 18 months was excessive.Futures on the CSI 300 Index expiring in January, the most active contract, gained 0.9 percent to 3,277.40 as of 9:16 a.m. China Communications Construction Co. and other infrastructure companies may move after the government said it will boost financial support for domestic companies to develop business overseas. Energy...

Tokyo Stocks Open 0.28% Lower

Tokyo stocks opened 0.28 percent lower on Thursday as the yen's fall against the dollar took a breather.The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 49.39 points at 17,804.84 at the start.Trading is expected to be thin due to the Christmas holiday.In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged to a fresh record in a holiday-shortened session Wednesday, one day after topping 18,000 points for the first time ever, closing up...

U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Indexes Erase Gain in Last Minutes

U.S. stocks were little changed as indexes erased gains in the final minutes of trading, after a five-day rally in equities that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 18,000 for the first time. The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index fell less than 1 point to 0.2 percent to 2,081.92 at 1 p.m. in New York. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 38 percent below the 30-day average for this time of day. U.S. equity markets closed at 1...