Euro Drops, Equity Futures Fall on French Election, Jobs

The euro fell to a three-month low,
U.S. and Asian equity futures fell and oil slid after French
Socialist Francois Hollande was elected President and U.S.
employers added fewer jobs than forecast.

The euro declined 0.9 percent to $1.2969 at 8:24 a.m. in
Tokyo. Standard Poor’s 500 Index futures and contracts for
Australia’s SP/ASX 200 Index (AS51) fell at least 1 percent. The yen
rose against all of its major counterparts, while the Australian
dollar slid 0.6 percent versus the U.S. currency. Oil sank as
much as 3.2 percent to $95.34 a barrel, the lowest level since
Dec. 20 in New York.

“People would better buckle up,” Matt McCormick, who
helps oversee $6.2 billion at Bahl Gaynor Inc. in Cincinnati,
said in a telephone interview. “There are still many hurdles in
Europe, there are no easy answers and the electorate is
rejecting austerity. People will take a renewed focus on Europe
and that focus is not positive.”

Socialist Hollande got about 52 percent against about 48
percent for Nicolas Sarkozy, according to estimates by four
pollsters. Hollande’s platform calls for policies German
Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes, including higher taxes,
increased spending and a delayed deficit-reduction effort. U.S.
payrolls climbed by 115,000 in April, the smallest gain in six
months and less than the median economist forecast of 160,000,
Labor Department data showed on May 4.

Euro, Yen

The euro fell 1.3 percent last week, the most in a month.
The common currency was at 103.65 yen, from 104.49 yen, dropping
1.8 percent last week. The dollar was at 79.84 yen.

Greek voters flocked to anti-bailout parties, stoking
concern austerity efforts in Europe may be derailed. Greece’s
poll casts doubt on whether the two main parties can put
together a government strong enough to implement spending cuts
to ensure the flow of bailout funds.

The euro has declined 0.3 percent over the past month,
according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track
10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar has risen 0.6 percent
and the yen has advanced 3.2 percent, the indexes show.

The SP 500 (SPX) dropped 2.4 percent last week,

You can read the rest of this article at:: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-06/euro-drops-equity-futures-fall-on-french-election-jobs

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Posted by RobertButler on May 6 2012. Filed under 2012 Presidential Campaign. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry