The U.S. dollar opened weaker on Monday as the aftershocks from Moody’s recent downgrade of U.S. credit continued to weigh on sentiment. In the forex market, the most notable move was USD/JPY, which dropped over 60 pips from Friday’s close. EUR/USD also rose, supported by the results of Romania’s presidential election.

Romania’s pro-EU, pro-NATO candidate won the presidency, defeating a far-right rival, which investors interpreted as a sign of political stability in Europe—boosting the euro slightly.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures and Treasury bonds started the Globex session lower, with further declines seen during early trading hours.

China’s April economic data showed mixed results: industrial production beat expectations (6.1% YoY vs. 5.5% forecast), while retail sales (5.1%) and fixed asset investment (4.0%) underperformed. The surveyed jobless rate dropped slightly to 5.1%. Overall, China’s data painted a picture of industrial resilience amid weakening domestic demand and persistent inflationary pressures.

In Japan, Prime Minister Ishiba rejected tax cuts funded by new debt, warning that Japan’s fiscal health is “worse than Greece” amid positive market interest rates. Finance Minister Kato added that while Japan isn’t struggling to issue debt yet, a loss of market confidence could weaken the yen and trigger inflation stress. The yen was only modestly impacted by these comments.

In the U.S., President Trump’s tax cut bill narrowly passed a House committee vote (17-16), with four hardline Republicans changing their “no” votes to “present”—a move seen by some as political posturing.

Lastly, Bitcoin continued its bullish trend, soaring past $106,500 to hit a fresh all-time high.