Euro Falls After Brussels Explosions
The euro weakened against most major currencies in the early European session on Tuesday, as investor sentiment dampened after multiple explosions in Brussels.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently down 0.55 percent or 33.80 points at 6,150, France's CAC 40 index is down 1.25 percent or 55.26 points at 4,372 and Germany's DAX is down 0.87 percent or 86.43 points at 9,862.
Explosions rocked through the check-in zone of Brussels airport, killing 13 people and injuring "several" others, while another blast shook a metro station in the Belgian capital.
In other economic news, data from Markit showed that Eurozone manufacturing PMI came in at 51.4, up from 51.2 in February and above the expected score was 51.4. The services Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 54 from 53.3 a month ago. The expected reading was 53.5.
Data from the Ifo Institute showed that German business confidence indicator rose to 106.7 from 105.7 in February. Economists had forecast a score of 106. The current situation measure of the survey climbed to a six-month high of 113.8 from 112.9. Economists had forecast a reading of 112.6.
In the Asian trading today, the euro held steady against its major rivals.
In the European session, the euro fell to more than a 2-week low of 1.0877 against the Swiss franc and a 6-day low of 1.1188 against the U.S. dollar and a 5-day low of 1.4743 against the Australian dollar, from early highs of 1.0914, 1.1259 and 1.4852, respectively. If the euro extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.07 against the franc, 1.07 against the greenback and 1.44 against the aussie.
Against the yen, the euro dropped to nearly a 2-week low of 124.67 from an early 5-day high of 126.27. On the downside, 122.00 is seen as the next support level for the euro.
The euro edged down to 1.6584 against the NZ dollar and 1.4659 against the Canadian dollar, from early highs of 1.6687 and 1.4727, respectively. The euro is likely to find support around 1.61 against the kiwi and 1.41 against the loonie.
Meanwhile, the euro rose to a 5-day high of 0.7857 against the pound, from an early low of 0.7814. The euro may test resistance near the 0.79 area.
Looking ahead, U.S. house price index for January, Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI and U.S. Richmond Fed manufacturing index, both for March, are slated for release in the New York session.
At 9:30 am ET, Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee member Kristin Forbes is expected to speak at the Royal Economic Society annual conference, in Brighton.
At 4:00 pm ET, New Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present his first budget, focus on huge deficit needed to finance infrastructure spending, in Ottawa.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com
