Euro vulnerable on Greece worries; European stocks higher ahead of ZEW report
On Tuesday the euro was lower against the dollar for a second session
as jitters that Greece is far from reaching an agreement on economic reforms for
bailout funds weighed on the single currency. Despite the Greek worries, European stocks were sharply higher as market players awaited the ZEW economic report on the German economic sentiment due later in the day.
EUR/USD slid to 1.0672 from 14.0736 late Monday.
Greece is no closer to reaching an agreement with its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund over economic reforms required to access remaining bailout funds, fuelling fears that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone.
The euro was also weaker against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.34% to 127.54.
The dollar was stronger after falling against the other major currencies last week when a series of downbeat economic data saw investors push back expectations on the timing of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
USD/JPY was up 0.25% to 119.48, off Monday’s lows of 118.52.
Stocks in Europe opened sharply high as investors awaited the ZEW Institute report on German economic sentiment due later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.08%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.44%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.38%. In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.67%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.59% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.53% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.63% climb.
