The euro fell yesterday after the European Central Bank pledged to use unconventional measures if needed to battle low inflation, and a global gauge of stocks dipped after touching a six-year high.
Brent crude rallied more than one per cent, bouncing from a five-month low, on doubts a standoff in Libyan ports will be resolved soon.
The ECB, as expected, kept its main interest rate at a record low of 0.25 per cent and the rate for bank deposits at central banks at zero, but comments from its president, Mario Draghi, weighed on the single currency.
Draghi told a news conference that he and his colleagues expected a period of low inflation, and that action would be taken if it dragged on too long.
“The ECB is being slightly more dovish than the market expected,” said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York. “The main takeaway is that the council is considering unusual techniques, and that’s negative for euro/dollar.”
On Wall Street, major stock indexes fell after the Dow and the S&P 500 hit intraday record highs shortly after the open. Reluctance to make big bets ahead of today’s payrolls report translated into profit taking in so-called momentum stocks, and the Nasdaq Composite was hardest hit among main indexes.
US data was mixed, with the services sector showing growth, but some employment components flashed weakness.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
Other data showed the US trade deficit unexpectedly widened in February suggesting weaker-than-anticipated first-quarter growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.69 points or 0.23 per cent, to 16,534.31, the S&P 500 lost 7.6 points or 0.4 per cent, to 1,883.3 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 58.677 points or 1.37 per cent, to 4,217.779.
Both the S&P and Dow hit intraday record highs.
MSCI’s global equities gauge slipped 0.3 per cent after touching its highest level since December 2007.
In commodities markets, gold and copper prices were weighed by the strength in the greenback. Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,285.30 an ounce, and three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.5 per cent at $6,639.