News Summary

The US dollar fell versus its major rivals Thursday after US weekly jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since July 2008. The dollar index (DXY) fell about 0.38%. Against the greenback, the euro rose 0.5446% to 1.3296, up from $1.3219 Wednesday. Shares of VisionChina Media Inc VISN surged about 8.5% after the company reported that it and Focus Media Holding Limited FMCN have entered into a securities purchase agreement. Under the agreement, FMCN will buy 15,331,305 newly issued common shares of VISN at US$3.979 per share. Gold futures extended their losses, along with oil futures after data on US jobless claims. Gold futures for February delivery lost $4.60 to $1,408.70 an ounce. However, crude oil for February delivery moved down $0.55 to $90.57 per barrel. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.