Published: Thu, 21 May 2009 16:01:00 +0200

US markets open lower; Pound picks up

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - U.S. markets have opened Thursday's session with losses, as investor's confidence has been hit by S&P downgrading UK rating outlook due to excessive government debt. Euro has dropped below intra-day low.

Dow Jones Industrials Index trades 1,39% below its opening level while the Nasdaq index sheds 0.77% and the S&P Index drops 1.12% in the first hour of trading.

U.S Jobless claims have dropped by 12K to 631K during the ¡week of may 60, a larger drop than the 7K expected although Continuing claims have increased by 75K to a new record high to 6.662.00, although the real topic of the day has been Standard and Poor's downgrading UK's rating outlook from stable to negative.

Pound picks up after sharp decline

GBP/USD rebound on 1.5510 low after S&P downgrading has reached levels above 1.5700. At the time of writing, the Pound trades at 1.5720.

The Euro has dropped below the 1.3755 support level on after jobless claims data was released, reaching a new intra-day low at 1.3735. The Pair is attempting t return above 1.3755 aat the moment of writing.

USD/JPY decline from 95-10 resistance level has remained, so far, abocve may 18 low at 94.55.

By Fxstreet.com

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