Investors Keep a Keen Eye on Currency Markets
European stocks open modestly lower Friday as investors await a key employment report from the United States and keep a keen eye on currency markets amid a steep decline in the pound and a renewed slump in the dollar.
The pound was little-changed from its overnight lows at 1.3137 after its biggest single-day decline in nearly two months yesterday, while the euro was holding at 1.1878, the highest since January 2015, amid the global dollar weakness.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, slipped 0.1% to 92.77, the lowest since May 2015, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Special Council Robert Mueller had impanelled a Grand Jury in relation to his ongoing investigation into alleged ties between Russian officials and President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. The developments suggest the probe has escalated and could intensify further into the autumn months, providing yet another distraction for a flaying White House as it seeks to broker a budget agreement with Congress to avoid a government shutdown.
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