Gold Set for Largest Monthly Fall in Two Years as Dollar Gains

Gold held declines, heading for its biggest monthly drop in two years as the U.S. economy expanded at a faster pace in the second quarter, bolstering expectations of a rate rise this year and boosting the dollar. Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,089.29 an ounce at 8:36 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. It’s down 7.1 percent this month after last week falling to $1,077.40, the lowest since...

Dollar Rises to Four-Month High as U.S. Economy Gains Strength

The dollar surged to a four-month high as a report showed the U.S. economy grew in the first half of the year, a day after the Federal Reserve took a step closer to raising interest rates. The U.S. currency strengthened against all of its 16 major peers as data showed the world’s biggest economy expanded at a faster pace in the second quarter and eked out a gain at the start of the year. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks...

Asian Stocks Gain, Paring July Loss, Ahead of China Factory Data

Asian stocks rose as investors weighed earnings reports in Japan ahead of manufacturing data that may provide a clue to the strength of China’s economic growth. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 141.08 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge is on course to decline 0.9 percent this week and 3.5 percent in July, which would be its worst monthly drop this year. China discloses July factory output on Saturday, after a private...

Japanese Stocks Rise as Investors Await Busiest Day of Earnings

Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix index set to cap a monthly increase, as investors await company results on the busiest day in the earnings season. Shippers and refineries led gains. The Topix index climbed 0.2 percent to 1,650.72 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, headed for a weekly loss of 0.3 percent and a gain of 1.2 percent in July. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.2 percent to 20,488.75. More than 300 companies in the Topix will...

U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Mondelez Offsets Facebook, P&G

U.S. stocks were little changed as better-than-estimated earnings from Mondelez International Inc. helped offset results that disappointed from Facebook Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased less than 0.1 percent to 2,108.75 at 4 p.m. in New York, after falling as much as 0.6 percent. The gauge rebounded above its average prices during the past 50 and 100 days. A report today showed gross domestic...