6:30AM European shares gain ground on oil rally.
European markets were higher by mid-morning. The U.K. FTSE 100 index climbed 0.4% at 5,851, the German DAX Xetra 30 index rose 0.3% at 5,642 and the French CAC-40 index gained 0.4% at 4,940. On the corporate front, leading energy producers advanced. BP gained 1.5%, Royal Dutch Shell rose 1.1% and Total advanced 1.4%. Germany''s Bayer slipped 1.2% following its statement that it would sell 34 million shares to fund its acquisition of healthcare peer Schering. France''s Veolia Environnement dipped 1.9% after Vivendi disclosed plans to place its final 5% stake in the company, breaking the remaining ties to what was formerly called Compagnie Générale des Eaux. British bread company RHM advanced 1.1% to 271 pence after private equity firm Doughty Hanson said that it would place the remaining 93 million shares, or 26.6% of RHM, at 266 pence a share.

Oil held near record highs above $75 a barrel, supported by worries over Iran''s nuclear program and expectations of a drop in U.S. gasoline stockpiles as the summer season gets into gear. Gold hit a high of $628.30 an ounce before retreating to $624.00/624.70 by 0947 GMT, down from $627.40/628.10 in New York late on Wednesday, when gold advanced nearly $6. The dollar fell slightly against the European currency. The euro inched up to $1.2735 from $1.2732 as traders awaited a meeting of the European Central Bank later in the day. The dollar was trading at 115.48 yen, down 0.23 yen from late Wednesday in New York.

5:30AM Precious metals advance on geopolitical tensions over N.Korea tests.
August gold finished up $13.70 to $629.70 a troy ounce on the NYME. September silver added 49.5 cents to $11.415 an ounce. October platinum added $6.90 to $1,248.60 an ounce, while September palladium advanced $4.20 to $327.70. The most-traded September copper contract gained 4.90 cents to close at $3.4040 per pound.

The front-month August crude-oil futures contract climbed $1.47 a barrel to an intraday high of $75.40 a barrel, the highest level for a front-month crude contract. August gasoline futures advanced 6.12 cents to $2.28 a gallon. August heating oil rose 3.40 cents to close at $2.0626 a barrel. On the New York Board of Trade, July Arabica coffee futures finished down 0.15 cent at $1.0185 a pound, while September lost 0.05 cent to $1.0345 a pound. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for October ended up 0.40 cent at 17.02 cents a pound while March rose 0.38 cent to 17.32 cents a pound.