US dollar, stocks tumble after May's Brexit speech

The US dollar and stocks took a hit on Tuesday as investors pondered over comments from British Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit.

Britain will leave the European single market, restrict access to the country by EU citizens and end the jurisdiction in Britain of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), May said in her speech on Tuesday.

While, the British pound surged over 2 per cent following May's speech, the US dollar dropped 0.83 per cent at 100.34 in late trading on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

This came amidst US President-elect Donald Trump's remarks on Friday, where he said interview with The Wall Street Journal that the US currency has gotten "too strong."

In late New York trading, the euro rose to $1.0707 from $1.0640 in the previous session, and the British pound jumped to $1.2395 from $1.2189 in the previous session.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 58.96 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 19,826.77. The S&P 500 decreased 6.75 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 2,267.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 35.39 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 5,538.73. --IANS

vgu/