But by late in the day, the euro got a lift when traders were forced to buy euros to cover their short positions after the German Ifo business climate data -- though disappointing -- turned out to be not nearly as bad as the "whisper numbers" had indicated.
In overseas trading, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index ended up 0.2 percent at 973.59. For the week, it was down 0.36 percent and off 5.3 percent from its 2004 peak on March 3.
In Japan, the Nikkei average jumped 2.08 percent to 11,770.65, the highest close since June 3, 2002. For the week, the Nikkei was up 3.08 percent. It appears to be aiming for 12,000.
RSS