JAPAN

The euro fell on Tuesday after a two-notch downgrade of Portugal's sovereign debt rating and ahead of Greece's return to capital markets for the first time since late April.

Asian shares surrendered early gains on Tuesday, weighed down by Chinese stocks, which slid on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon.

Japan faces political gridlock after the ruling party's poor showing in an election on Sunday, which could thwart efforts to curb a huge public debt and get the economy in shape, as well as putting Prime Minister Naoto Kan's job at risk. Standard & Poor's rates Japan's long-term local and foreign currency debt AA, both with a negative outlook.

Oil retreated on Tuesday to stay below $75, tracking Asian equities lower and on forecasts for a seventh straight weekly gain in distillate fuel inventories at top consumer the United States. Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, curbing early gains in other Asian equity markets and tempering strong U.S. corporate earnings and forecasts for a fourth consecutive weekly fall in the nation's crude stockpiles.

The euro consolidated well below two-month peaks against the dollar on Tuesday as investors hesitated to go long on the single currency and risk large short dollar positions during the U.S. earnings season.

Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on Tuesday on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, weighing on the Australian dollar and curbing early gains in Asian shares.

The euro fell against the dollar on Monday, pulling back from a two-month high, with investors betting recent gains were too far, too fast as upcoming results of stress tests on European banks loom. Some in the market said the euro had been knocked by a weekend German magazine report that the stress tests would include loan markdowns on German sovereign debt under certain conditions, countering reports last week that the tests would exempt German haircuts.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday as investors remained concerned about Europe's fiscal issues and financial sector, though some merger and acquisition news helped limit losses.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday as investors remained concerned about Europe's fiscal issues and financial sector, though some merger and acquisition news helped limit losses.

U.S. stock index futures were down on Monday, following the S&P's best week in a year and as investors awaited the unofficial start of earnings season with Alcoa Inc's results later in the day.

Stock index futures were down on Monday, following the S&P's best week in a year, and as investors awaited the unofficial start of earnings season with Alcoa Inc's results.

The euro fell against the dollar on Monday, pulling back from a two-month high as concerns about the results of stress tests on European banks prompted investors to trim long positions in the single currency.

Blackstone Group will manage a $2-billion-plus Asian real estate fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, in a deal that will close in the third quarter, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

The policy deadlock in Japan resulting from the ruling party's drubbing in upper house elections raises obvious concerns for Prime Minister Naoto Kan. But the Bank of Japan should be worried too.

The euro fell against the dollar on Monday, pulling away from a two-month high as concerns about the effectiveness of stress tests on European banks prompted investors to trim long positions in the single currency.

World stocks briefly hit a two-week peak on Monday as expectations rose that U.S. corporate earnings this week would point to a sustainable economic recovery in the world's biggest economy.

U.S. crude oil futures hovered at around $76 a barrel on Monday as China's bigger-than-expected trade surplus in June eased worries about a slowdown for the global economic recovery and oil demand.

The yen eased on Monday after election results showed political uncertainty lay ahead for Japan, but the move was likely to be short-lived with attention turning the U.S. earnings season as a gauge of risk appetite.

Gold prices failed to move upwards in Asian trade Monday after equity markets rose in the region, attracted some investors amid positive reports on global economic recovery.

Asian stocks rose on Monday as investors counted on the start of the U.S. earnings season this week to show firms were reaping strong profits and that the world's economic recovery was not losing steam.

Japanese shares rose and the yen largely held its ground in early trade on Monday, with investors seemingly indifferent to a major election loss suffered by Japan's government over the weekend.