Gold Holds Near Five-Year Low as Fed Minutes Bolster Rate View

Gold remained near its five-year low after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting reinforced the outlook for an interest-rate increase next month. Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,073.75 at 8:18 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal tumbled to $1,064.55 on Wednesday, the lowest since February 2010. Gold is headed for a third annual loss on rising expectations that U.S. growth...

Oil Trades Near Two-Month Low After U.S. Crude Supplies Increase

Oil was little changed in New York after falling below $40 a barrel for the first time since August as producers’ output swelled global inventories to a record. U.S. crude stockpiles climbed to 487.3 million barrels last week, the highest for this time of year since 1930, government data show. Oil inventories have expanded to almost 3 billion barrels because of growing output in OPEC and elsewhere, the International Energy Agency said...

Asian Stocks Rise on Fed Minutes as Investors Await BOJ Decision

Asian stocks rose, following a rally in U.S. shares, after minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting showed policy makers’ faith in the world’s biggest economy, with officials saying the pace of any rate increases will be gradual. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.7 percent to 132.47 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. Through Wednesday, the gauge rallied 8.6 percent from a two-year low in September as investors prepare for the...

Japanese Stocks Advance on Weaker Yen Before BOJ Policy Decision

Japanese shares advanced, led by airlines and insurers, after the yen slid to a three-month low against the dollar and as investors awaited a central bank policy decision. The Topix index gained 0.9 percent to 1,600.41 at 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, climbing above 1,600 for the first time since August. The yen traded at 123.50 per dollar. U.S. stocks jumped Wednesday as the Federal Reserve published minutes of its October meeting, which stressed...

Asia Index Futures Signal Rally on Fed Optimism; Yen Holds Drop

Equity-index futures signaled gains across Asia after Federal Reserve meeting minutes reaffirmed policy makers’ faith in the world’s biggest economy and stressed the pace of any rate increases will be gradual. The yen held near a three-month low against the dollar. Contracts on stock gauges from Sydney to Seoul and Tokyo advanced, following the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s...