But The Euro's Biggest

(Reuters) - World stocks stumbled and the euro fell to a 21-month low on Wednesday on worries about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone, which would deepen the region's debt crisis and hurt an already fragile global economic recovery. Each euro zone country will have to prepare a contingency plan for the eventuality of Greece leaving the bloc's currency, three euro zone sources told Reuters, citing an agreement reached by officials. A scramble for low-risk investments enabled Germany to pay no interest on 5-billion euro worth of new, two-year debt amid the absence of new measures to tackle the region's debt crisis from a European leaders' summit in Brussels. "The markets are on edge and sensitive to every possible out-of-control scenario coming out of Europe," said Peter Boockvar, ...

(Reuters) - World shares fell and Germany sold two-year bonds paying virtually no interest on Wednesday as investors shunned riskier assets, doubting that any new measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis would emerge from a European leaders summit. Concerns the latest EU summit could be a failure sent the euro to a 21-month low, put an end to a rally in European equities, and sent yields on Spanish and Italian bonds higher. But investors bid strongly at an auction of safe-haven two-year German government bonds resulting in a yield of just 0.07 percent, while the dollar, measured against other major currencies .DXY hit a high not seen since September 2010. The leaders are expected to discuss boosting growth at their meeting later on Wednesday and the idea of a joint euro zone bond. ...

The euro rose from a four-month low against the dollar on Friday as investors pared bets against the single currency after a 4 percent drop this month, but concerns about Greece and Spain were likely to keep it under pressure. Despite Friday's gains, investors preferred the relative safety of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. They were reluctant to increase risk exposure after Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks on Thursday. With no U.S. data to drive foreign exchange markets, investors are most likely to consolidate positions ahead of the weekend following days of euro losses. "The biggest risk today is position squaring into the weekend; however there appears to be increasing evidence that the euro is likely to move lower in the days ahead," said Camilla Sutton, ...

World stocks dropped and the euro fell to a four-month low against the dollar on Tuesday after Greece said it would hold new elections and worries increased about its possible exit from the euro zone. Gold touched a 4-1/2-month low, with the euro's weakness unnerving investors over the profitability of holding euro-denominated assets. The political turmoil in Greece kept pressure on markets. Investors have been concerned that long-lasting problems in the euro zone and a likely recession will hit global growth. Greek politicians again failed to agree on a new government, nine days after an inconclusive election. After Greece's president said the country will hold new elections, the euro slumped and investors fled to the safe-haven dollar. The Greek news "triggered the fall through $1. ...

The euro gained against the dollar on Thursday, snapping eight straight sessions of declines and bouncing from its recent 3-1/2-month low as stress in Spanish debt markets eased and Greece secured funds to repay its bondholders. The tempering of the dual threats of a Greek insolvency and the country's potential exit from the euro also had the single currency rebounding from a mid-February low against the Japanese yen. Greece averted an imminent funding crisis after the board of the European Financial Stability Facility agreed to release a scheduled payment. The allocation allows the country to meet near-term bond redemptions, helping the euro stabilize after an eight-day sell off. "The EFSF agreement could be viewed as euro-positive, and data in the U.S. and overseas was not negative, ...

Global stocks advanced for the first time in seven sessions on Thursday on relatively encouraging U.S. jobs data and improved investor sentiment regarding Europe's festering debt crisis. U.S. and European equity markets rose after data showed U.S. claims for unemployment benefits edged lower last week, a sign of comfort after April's weak employment growth was perceived as a harbinger of a worsening U.S. labor market. Investors also used a recent streak of declines to buy beaten-down assets, lifting the euro against the dollar for the first time in nine sessions and snapping a six-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. "You are seeing traders and investors come into some of these very oversold sectors and buying on the dips. Then suddenly, the people who are scared ...

The euro rose against the dollar for the first time in nine sessions on Thursday, bouncing from its recent 3-1/2-month low as stress in Spanish debt markets eased slightly and after Greece secured funds to repay its bondholders. The tempering of the threat of a Greek insolvency and the country's possible exit from the euro also had the single currency rebounding from a mid-February low against the Japanese yen. Greece averted an imminent funding crisis after the board of the European Financial Stability Facility agreed to release a scheduled payment. The allocation allows the country to meet near term bond redemptions, helping the euro stabilize after an eight day sell off. "The EFSF agreement could be viewed as euro-positive, and data in the U.S. and overseas was not negative, but ...

(Reuters) - The euro wallowed near a 3 1/2-month low against the dollar on Thursday as political deadlock in Greece threatens its rescue deal and raises the spectre of the country risking insolvency and leaving the euro zone. Worries that the euro zone could plunge back into a debt crisis, after a semblance of stability in the past few months, were also supporting the yen near a three-month high. "Uncertainty over Greece is going to weigh on markets," said Sumino Kamei, senior currency analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "There's now open talk about Greece's exit from the euro. The euro is likely to have moved into a new range below $1.30." The euro fell as low as $1.29115 on Wednesday, the lowest since Jan 23. It last stood at $1.2947, with next possible support seen around $ ...

The euro dropped broadly on Monday after elections in Greece and France cast doubt on politicians' commitment to austerity plans aimed at tackling the euro zone debt crisis. Renewed fears about the stability of the euro zone made the common currency pierce the key psychological level of $1.30 on its way to hitting a three-month low against the dollar in the overnight session. Technical support helped pare losses during New York trade, though the single currency looked likely to remain under pressure in days ahead. The biggest blow to the common currency was the Greek election, in which the two main parties that support the nation's international bailout failed to secure a parliamentary majority. This threw into question the future of the program and potentially the country's membership ...