Monday morning in Asia, the dollar jumped against its European counterparts as Asian stocks slipped on risk aversion after U.S. regulators sued Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for fraud.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.4%, China’s Shangai composite index plunged 1.9%, South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.4%, New Zealand’s NZX 50 index dropped 1.2%, Australia’s S&P 200 index plummeted 1.4% and the All Ordinaries index was 1.3% lower.
Late in the morning on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs and one of its vice presidents with fraud, sending markets into a tailspin. Goldman stands accused of creating a collateralized debt obligation designed to fail while also shorting the instrument, resulting in a substantial gain for the firm.
Shares of Goldman Sachs sank by 12.8 percent on the news on Friday and closed at their lowest price in just over six weeks.
The dollar strengthened against the euro during early Asian deals on Monday. As of now, the dollar is trading at a 10-day high of 1.3449 against the euro, compared to last week’s close of 1.3502. On the upside, 1.328 is seen as the next target level for the US currency.
In early Asian deals on Monday, the dollar rose against the pound. At present, the dollar is trading at an 11-day high of 1.5240 against the pound. The next upside target level for the dollar is seen at 1.514. At Friday’s close, the pound-dollar pair was quoted at 1.5363.
The pound declined today despite a report from the property Web site Rightmove showed that the average asking price for a home in the United Kingdom jumped 6.0 percent on year in April, following a 5.3 percent annual increase in March.
On a monthly basis, asking prices were up 2.6 percent after ticking higher by 0.1 percent in March.
The dollar climbed against the Swiss franc in early Asian deals on Monday. Currently, the dollar-franc pair is trading at a 1-week high of 1.0660 and if the pair advances further, it may likely target the 1.079 level. The pair was worth 1.0615 at Friday’s close.
The Euro-zone construction output data for February has been slated for relaese in the European session.
The U.S. leading indicators report for March is due in the New York session.