6:30AM European markets ignore bomb scare to open in positive territory.
European markets were higher on Friday morning. The FTSE 100 in London added 0.2% at 5,835.2, the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was up 0.55 to 5,656.76, and the CAC-40 in Paris moved up 0.6% at 5,006.68. On the corporate front, ThyssenKrupp, the German steel and engineering group, topped expectations with pre-tax profits of ˆ806m, up from ˆ577m a year earlier. The stock eased however on profit-taking, losing 0.8%.

Michelin, gained 3% after the French tyre maker said it was planning to lift its tyre prices by 6-8% in reaction to higher raw material costs. AGF, the French insurer, advanced 2.4% following first-half net profit growth of 33%. Allianz, which owns 58% of AGF, moved up 1%. Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch financial group, rose 1.8% after JP Morgan raised its price target on the stock.

Crude oil prices partially recovered early Friday. Light, sweet crude for September delivery gained 24 cents at $74.24 on the NYME. Gold opened Friday at a bid price of $641.00 a troy ounce, up from $640.70 late Thursday. The U.S. dollar gained slightly on the euro Friday, as markets continued to absorb the thwarted terror plot in Britain.

The euro bought $1.2781, down slightly from $1.2784 in late New York trading. The British pound regained some ground to $1.8937, from $1.8922. The dollar also strengthened against the Japanese currency, to 115.70 yen, from 115.27 after weaker-than-expected Japanese economic growth data set off yen-selling.

5:00AM Gold and silver decline in a sell-off on Thursday.
December gold ended $16 lower at $646 a troy ounce. Silver lost 46.5 cents to close at $12.105 an ounce. October platinum finished $12.50 lower at $1,250.50 an ounce. September palladium moved $3.95 lower at $322.75 an ounce. September copper settled down 8.55 cents at $3.6245 per pound.

September light, sweet crude oil ended down $2.35 at $74 a barrel, while September gasoline fell 18.33 cents to $1.9889 a gallon. September heating oil shed 8.13 cents to $2.025 a gallon and September natural gas ended down 12.2 cents at $7.529 a million British thermal units. On the New York Board of Trade, September Arabica coffee fell to its lowest price in four sessions, settling down 2.10 cents at $1.0555 a pound. October futures of raw sugar in foreign ports finished down 0.15 cent at 13.89 cents a pound.