In addition, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 1.4%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) fell 2% on December 3, 2015.
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Britain’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC40 and Germany’s DAX were all down 0.4 percent.
The Indian rupee briefly slumped to a two-year low past 67 against the dollar, prompting speculation among traders that the Reserve Bank of India intervened in the market by having state-run banks sell the greenback on its behalf.
“I can say therefore with confidence – and without any complacency – that we will secure the return of inflation to 2 percent without undue delay, because we are now deploying tools that we believe will achieve this, and because we can, in any case, deploy our tools further if that proves necessary”, Draghi told an audience in NY.
The report also said the unemployment rate held at the more than seven-year low of 5.0 percent set in the previous month, matching expectations. The euro was near its strongest level since 23 October versus the yen after additional stimulus measures from the European Central Bank disappointed investors, stinging those who had piled on wagers against the common currency amid expectations of more aggressive easing.
ECB EXPECTATIONS: Markets were also still reacting to the disappointment over the stimulus plans announced by the European Central Bank on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.32 percent, up sharply from 2.18 percent the day before.
Alastair McCaig, market analyst at spread betting firm IG, said that the onus was now on US Federal Reserve to deliver a first interest rate rise for almost a decade later this month. Job creation has been averaging around 200,000 a month this year, a figure Yellen said was “quite a bit” above the number needed to continue absorbing slack in the labor market.
The prospect of less European Central Bank stimulus than markets had discounted pushed stocks deeper into the red, while the euro snapped back after soaring 3 per cent on Thursday in its biggest one-day rally since March 2009 and third largest in its history.
On Thursday, the unit weakened to $1.0592 and 130.63 yen, from $1.0619 and 130.83 yen in NY.
Crude oil prices extended gains on Friday, as the dollar slumped against the euro, although market focus is fixed on an OPEC meeting in Vienna where the group is expected to reiterate its high output strategy.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.3 percent to 19,475.86 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 1,979.06. Brent crude, which is used to set prices for worldwide oils, climbed $1.53, or 3.6 per cent, to $44.01 a barrel in London.
