LONDON: The euro struggled Wednesday on increasing uncertainty about France's political outlook and fears of another debt crisis brewing in Greece, with equities also struggling.
"Given Brexit and Trump, it has been a while since the eurozone has been given so much attention," noted Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
Wall Street continues to touch record highs on hopes Donald Trump will enact business-friendly measures as US president, but elsewhere there are worries and uncertainty about his impact on the global economy.
Asian dealers are less sanguine following a series of outbursts that have included warnings of protectionism and depictions of Japan and China as trade cheats.
Against that background, traders are growing increasingly concerned about rising populism across the world -- particularly
following Trump and Brexit -- with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen echoing many of the tycoon's themes.
There are also elections in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands this year, with similar issues in those countries fuelling fears the European Union could break up.
The euro slid to $1.0652 on Wednesday, from highs of above $1.08 at the start of the week.
"While it is premature to draw any definitive conclusion, the political landscapes in both France and Italy are coming under immense scrutiny from investors, which should keep euro upticks limited," said Oanda trader Stephen Innes.
"If we factor in a possibly divisive German election, risks are rising immensely on the European political stage."
- Greek debt saga returns -
Greece's debt saga also reared its head after the International Monetary Fund warned the country would likely not reach targets prescribed for it to qualify for bailout cash.
While Athens dismissed the report, the comments sent Greece's cost of borrowing soaring on bond markets and raised the spectre of another crisis for the EU to juggle.
Other eurozone nations have also found themselves paying more to borrow, with Portugal's 10-year bonds now carrying a 4.2 percent rate of return on the secondary market, the highest since 2014.
European equities were down in afternoon trading, with London's FTSE 100 index slipping 0.4 percent after GlaxoSmithKline said net profit slumped to 912 million ($1.14 billion, 1.1 billion euros) in 2016.
Shares in the pharmaceutical giant slid 0.7 percent to 1,545 pence.
Wall Steet also opened lower, with down slipping 0.3 percent.
Oil prices extended losses after key data showed that US stockpiles soared last week and expectations that a US government report later Wednesday would similarly point to an increase.
However, the commodity pared initial drops after Qatar's energy minister, the current OPEC president, said world oil markets were "responding positively" to output cuts implemented by the cartel and some non-cartel producers this year.
Both main contracts fell more than one percent Tuesday.
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,156.62 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.5 percent at 11,495.42
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,743.70
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,221.97
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,035.94
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 19,007.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 23,485.13 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,166.98 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0687 from $1.0681
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2527 from $1.2509
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.87 yen from 112.35 yen
Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 21 cents at $54.84 per barrel
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 37 cents at $51.80
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