By FX Empire.com
Jitters from Europe spread across global markets on Thursday and overshadowed better than expected data from the United States, where reports suggested France and Germany are split over the mechanisms to leverage the European Financial Stability Facility fund, which spread a huge wave of pessimism ahead of the EU Summit next week.
Meanwhile, data from the United States showed jobless claims rose slightly above expectations, while the Philadelphia Fed index expanded in October, opposite to expectations of contraction, which spread some optimism in markets, although optimism soon faded as jitters from Europe continued to dominate investors.
The leading indicators from the United States rose by 0.2% in line with projections, while existing home sales fell in September by 3.0% to 4.91 million units.
As for FOREX markets, traders targeted lower yielding assets, as risk aversion spread across markets, where the U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Thursday.
Stocks in the United States were lower by opening on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by nearly 0.55% to trade around 11,442, while the S&P 500 index was down by nearly 0.60% to trade around 1202. European stock indexes were sharply lower before closing on Thursday, where FTSE 100 was down by nearly 1.35% to trade at 5376 and the DAX was down by nearly 2.40% to trade around 5771.
The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after opening with an upside gap, where the U.S. dollar index was trading at 77.27, compared with Wednesday’s closing at 77.07. The Euro fell against the Dollar, where the EUR/USD pair traded around $1.3678, compared with the opening level at $1.3767, the British Pound also fell against the Dollar, where the GBP/USD pair traded around $1.5707, compared with the opening level at $1.5771, and the U.S. dollar rose slightly against the Japanese Yen, where the USD/JPY pair was trading at 76.88, compared with the opening level at 76.83.
Gold prices fell sharply on Thursday to trade now around $1608 an ounce and crude oil prices also fell to trade around $85 a barrel.
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