Gold Futures Market Fifth Straight Session Decline

Gold futures settled lower for a fifth session in a row on Thursday, as traders tracked discussions about a debt deal for Greece that appeared to be increasingly unlikely to materialize ahead of a deadline at the end of the month. Gold for August delivery on Comex  fell $1.10, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,171.80 an ounce. Tracking the most-active contracts, that was the fifth straight session of losses and prices stand at their lowest...

USD/JPY sidelined near 123.60

The greenback is markedly lower vs. its Japanese counterpart on Thursday, with USD/JPY now consolidating around 123.60. The pair has broken down the key support at 124.00 and is now meandering the 123.60 area, amidst a confusing scenario in Greece in light of the Eurogroup meeting. Next of relevance in the pair will be US Initial Claims, Markit’s Services PMI, PCE and Personal Income/Spending. On the Japanese side, critical inflation...

U.S. Stocks Fall as Energy Retreat Overshadows Hospitals Rally

U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index below its average price for the past 50 days, as a drop in energy shares overshadowed a rally in health-care while investors watched for a breakthrough in Greek debt talks. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 2,102.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, falling for a second day. The S&P 500 is headed for a ninth week without a move of more than 1 percent, the longest streak...

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Amid Hospital Shares Rally, Greek Talks

U.S. stocks fluctuated, after the biggest drop in three weeks, as health-care shares rallied on a U.S. Supreme Court decision while investors watched for a breakthrough in Greek debt talks. HCA Holdings Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Universal Health Services Inc. jumped at least 7.5 percent after the Supreme Court upheld the nationwide tax subsidies that are a core component of President Barack Obama’s health-care law. Eli Lilly...

Europe Stocks Drop Second Day as Greek Groundhog Day Continues

European stocks extended a selloff as the region’s leaders differed on how Greek talks were progressing. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.2 percent to 396.39 at the close of trading. French President Francois Hollande held out hope of a deal for Greece, while his German counterpart said negotiations looked to be going backward. The Greek ASE Index added 0.1 percent, after swinging between gains and losses at least 11 times. Stocks rose...