The euro strengthened while stocks in the region and U.S. equity-index futures declined after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged. Gold rebounded and the ruble weakened to a new record.
The 18-nation shared currency rose 0.3 percent to $1.2521 at 7:45 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 0.3 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.2 percent. The yield on 10-year Italian bonds dropped four basis points to 2.39 percent and Spain’s rate declined five basis points to 2.14 percent. Gold rallied 0.4 percent and oil slid 0.5 percent. Russia’s ruble depreciated for a fourth day.
Stimulus Needed
While the ECB rate decision was in line with estimates, investors will be looking for signs of more stimulus moves from President Mario Draghi to ward off deflation and revive growth. Factory orders in Germany, the euro-area’s largest economy, rose less than forecast in September while according to private payroll data reported yesterday before tomorrow’s Labor Department’s monthly report U.S., companies added more workers than expected in October.
“There’s no great incentive for the ECB to explicitly talk the euro down or step up its rhetoric today,” said Roberto Mialich, a senior currency strategist at UniCredit Bank AG in Milan. “Tomorrow’s payrolls numbers in the U.S. will be a more critical driver for the euro at this juncture.”
The euro climbed versus 13 of its 16 major counterparts, climbing from near the two-year low of $1.2440 set on Nov. 3. It added 0.1 percent to 143.26 yen, reaching the strongest level since Jan. 2. The yen was little changed versus the dollar after depreciating as much as 0.8 percent to 115.52, the weakest level since November 2007.