Aust Dollar Falls Below US72c

The Australian dollar has softened further as global risk sentiment sours. At noon (AEDT) on Monday, the currency was trading at US71.71c, down from US72.44c on Friday. OANDA Australia and Asia Pacific senior trader Stephen Innes said continued oil price falls are sending commodity currencies like the Australian dollar into a tailspin. The Fed is widely expected to hike rates for...

Gold Holds Weekly Decline as Fed Interest Rate Decision Looms

Gold held a weekly loss as investors awaited a decision on a U.S. interest rate increase when the Federal Reserve meets Dec. 15-16. Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.3 percent to $1,071.25 an ounce and traded at $1,074 at 8:55 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal dropped 1.1 percent last week. U.S. and European stocks slumped at the end of last week as a rout in oil prices and ructions...

Shanghai Composite Index Drops as Offshore Yuan Weakens

China’s benchmark stock index fell after the offshore yuan weakened for a sixth day. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.9 percent to 3,404.36 at 9:31 a.m. local time. Fosun International Ltd. tumbled 9.9 percent in Hong Kong after shares resumed trading. Fosun was suspended on Friday amid a Caixin report that billionaire Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Fosun Group, was missing. The yuan traded in Hong Kong slid 0.29 percent to 6.5511...

Asian Stocks Join Global Selloff as Commodity Producers Retreat

Asian stocks joined a global selloff as concern about turmoil in the credit and commodities markets ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting overshadowed a batch of better-than-expected Chinese economic data. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.4 percent to 127.69 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo, falling for a fifth day in its longest stretch of declines since the measure’s August...

Japanese Stocks Fall as Rout in U.S. and Europe Spreads to Asia

Japanese stocks fell as a rout in U.S. and European equities on Friday spread to Asia. Energy explorers led declines. The Topix index dropped 1.8 percent to 1,521.62 as of 9:01 a.m., heading for its lowest close since Oct. 22, as all of its 33 industry groups declined. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.7 percent to 18,896.42. U.S. and European stocks slumped at the end of last week as a rout in oil prices and ructions in the junk-bond...