(RTTNews) - The euro showed mixed trading against other major currencies in early European session on Monday. While the euro jumped to near a 6-week high against the pound, it weakened against the yen, dollar and the franc. The euro thus eased from near a 3-week high against the dollar.
Most Asian and European stocks climbed today on the back of an encouraging U.S. jobs data.
Employment in the month of August fell by much less than economists had been expecting, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday, with the report also showing a much smaller than previously reported drop in employment in July.
The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 54,000 jobs in August, matching the revised decrease in jobs seen in July. Economists had expected employment to fall by about 120,000 jobs compared to the loss of 131,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Despite the smaller than expected decrease in non-farm employment, the unemployment rate still edged up to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July. The modest increase in the unemployment rate came in line with economist estimates.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.05%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.8%, China's Shangai composite index soared 1.5%, New Zealand's NZX 50 index gained 1.15%, South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.7% and Taiwan's main index edged up 0.8%. Australia's S&P 200 index and the All Ordinaries index climbed 0.8% each.
In Europe, Germany's DAX gained 0.4% thus far, France's CAC 40 index advanced 0.5% and U.K.'s FTSE 10 index soared 0.4%.
Eurozone investor confidence deteriorated in September, a survey published by the Sentix research group showed today. The indicator fell to 7.6 from 8.5 in August. The indicator stayed below the expected level of 7.8.
The euro fell against the yen in early European deals on Monday. As of now, the euro-yen pair is worth 108.30, down from Friday's close of 108.85. If the euro weakens further, it may likely target the 106.3 level.
During early European session on Monday, the euro strengthened against the pound. The euro-pound pair that closed last week's trading at 0.8339 is now trading near a 6-week high of 0.8380. On the upside, 0.853 is seen as the next target level for the European currency.
The euro that rose to near a 3-week high of 1.2919 against the dollar at 2:55 am ET Monday weakened thereafter. The euro-dollar pair is currently trading near Friday's close of 1.2895. The next downside target level for the euro is seen at 1.278.
After reaching a high of 1.3136 against the Swiss franc at 3:25 am ET Monday, the euro slipped. The euro-franc pair is currently worth 1.3084 with 1.298 seen as the next downside target level. At yesterday's close, the pair was quoted at 1.3106. The U.S. financial markets are closed today for the Labor Dayholiday.
