Stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) turned negative after the long weekend following a late drop Friday and a new four-year low for the euro. The dip was quickly followed by a positive turn, but it’s anyone’s guess how today will ultimately play out.
Major U. S. indexes are set to slide again early Tuesday after the view on Spain’s debt worsened. The euro fell to $1.2112 before recovering from that low to settle at $1.2155. As the euro’s performance has continued as a barometer for overall confidence in the global economic recovery, investors are turning to once again to safe havens such as the U. S. dollar and Treasuries. [U.S. Dollar Revels In Safe Haven Status.]
- PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bullish (NYSEArca: UUP)
Stocks were also down in Europe because of concerns over the job market and the health of the eurozone economy after a recent employment report raised issues with the current unemployment rate and overall effect of unemployment on the 27 nations that make up the European Union. The overall rate is 9.7%. Spain led the list with a rate of 19.7%. [Jeremy Siegel’s Thoughts on Europe.]
- iShares MSCI EMU Index (NYSEArca: EZU)
BP shares also plunged in London after the company’s latest attempt to cap the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico failed this weekend. This latest struggle with the spill follows a report that shows just a week before the explosion on the Deep Water Horizon rig, BP asked regulators to approve three successive changes to its permits that may have compromised the strength of the well. [Oil ETFs: What the Future Holds.]
- Europe 2001 HOLDRs (AMEX: EKH): BP is 3.2%
China manufacturing sector continued to grow in May, but has slowed somewhat after measures by the Chinese government to pace economic growth began to take hold. With a solid recovery from the global recession, China expects growth of around 10% in 2010, and is expected to overtake Japan as the world’s second strongest economy behind the United States. Beijing has introduced a number of measures to deflate what many analysts describe as a growing real estate bubble, which has put housing costs out of reach for many Chinese citizens. [View CNBC’s Emerging Markets Portfolio.]
- SPDR S&P China (NYSEArca: GXC)
Aaron Hurst contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.