Stocks retreat as Brent oil settles at highest since April
Technology shares steadied after a selloff, while energy stocks reached a record high as attacks in Saudi Arabia raised supply concerns.
Euro falls as French debt concerns weigh on currency
The euro was heading for weekly losses against the dollar and yen, while traders awaited policy meetings at three major central banks.
The euro weakened on October 23 as worries over France’s public finances and social unrest weighed on the currency. Selling in French government bonds drove the country’s debt risk premium to a level last seen during the 2011 euro zone sovereign debt crisis.
Against the dollar, the euro slipped 0.21% to $1.1191, putting its weekly decline on course for 0.43%. It also reached its weakest point against the yen since October 2025 and was heading for a 1.1% weekly loss against the Japanese currency.
France faced a possible downgrade from Moody’s on October 23. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police officers, supported by specialist units, would be deployed for Saturday’s protests.
The yen slipped 0.1% against the dollar to 156.9 yen but remained on course to gain around 0.7% for the week, its strongest weekly performance since mid-September. Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG, said more risk-averse trading had supported the yen. The dollar index advanced 0.25% to 101.82, leaving it headed for a 0.03% weekly increase.
Attention was also turning to upcoming policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan. All three were expected to keep rates steady. LSEG data showed fed funds futures traders assigning an 81% probability to a December increase, down after Thursday’s stock selloff. Traders put the chances of December hikes at 66% for the ECB and 61% for the BOJ.