Gold Settles Higher, Then Tops $1,210 After Fed Minutes

Gold futures settled higher on Wednesday, then moved up in electronic trading to top $1,210 an ounce after minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s April meeting showed that only a few officials expect an interest-rate hike in June. Gold for June delivery GCM5, was at $1,211.10 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex after the minutes, after settling at $1,208.70 an ounce, up $2, or 0.2%, on Comex. The April minutes...

Dollar Remains Higher as Minutes Show Fed in No Rush to Hike

The dollar remained higher as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting suggested the central bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates soon.The U.S. currency fluctuated after policy makers said last month that they didn’t expect to raise rates at their next meeting in June even while concluding that a first-quarter economic slowdown was unlikely to persist, minutes of the meeting show.The dollar traded at 121.39 yen as of 2:07...

Japan’s Topix Extends 2007 High as Fed Minutes Spur Weaker Yen

Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix index climbing from a 7 1/2-year high, after the yen slid as investors weighed minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. The Topix advanced 0.3 percent to 1,647.83 as of 9:06 a.m. in Tokyo, after yesterday closing at the highest since October 2007. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent to 20,242.96. The yen traded at 121.20 per dollar after touching the weakest level since March...

Asian Stocks Rise After Fed Minutes as Investors Await China PMI

Asian stocks advanced for the first time in three days as investors weighed the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting and awaited China manufacturing data. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent to 153.02 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The Fed minutes reinforced the view that interest rates will probably be boosted in the second half of this year. China factory activity may show improvement this month, preliminary estimates...

U.S. Stocks Little Changed Amid Airline Selloff, Fed Patience

U.S. stocks closed little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipping for a second day, as a selloff in airlines offset Federal Reserve meeting minutes that showed officials in no hurry to raise interest rates. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 2,125.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, after briefly climbing above its all-time high. Fed officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their June meeting even as they concluded...