Currency exchange traded funds following the euro’s movements against the dollar were down more than 1% in Monday’s premarket as the European debt crisis continues to heat up.
European officials are resigned that Greece should default on part of its debt under a new bailout plan, the Financial Times reported Monday.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an emergency meeting as the crisis appears to be spreading to Italy, Reuters reported over the weekend.
U.S. stocks were set for a sharply lower open Monday. Dow futures slipped more than 100 points and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) was off 1.1% before the bell.
In Europe, Italian and Spanish bond yields jumped on the renewed sovereign debt fears. [ETF Spotlight: Italy]
In precious metals, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) rose 0.5% in Monday’s premarket.
“Both Italy and Spain are starting to look more vulnerable,” said Niels From, chief analyst at Nordea Bank AB, according to a Bloomberg report. “The fear is that this is going to continue as the market starts focusing on the larger euro-region nations.”
