The euro rose to $1.2910 from $1.2843 late Friday. It slipped to 138.96 from 139.15 yen.

FTSEurofirst 300 index was 1.9 percent lower at 1,061.9 points, its weakest level since February.

Britain's FTSE was DOWN 1.2%; France's CAC-40 was DOWN 1.5%; Germany's GDAX was DOWN 2.2%.

Asian markets were also soundly weaker after Wall Street closed on Friday at its lowest level in 5-1/2 months.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 107.51 yen in Tokyo in initial trading, down 0.80 yen from late Friday.

Tokyo stocks fell 1.5%; South Korea's benchmark KOSPI dropped 1.4% as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. fell 2.5% percent and LG.Philips LCD (LPL: chart)tumbled 2.3%.

The Nikkei was DOWN 369.48 points at 11,001.21; The broader TOPIX index was DOWN 2.9% at 1,117.25.

Oil prices, falling to an 8-week low below $50 a barrel, helped calm inflation worries. U.S. light crude traded at $49.66 a barrel before recovering to $50.20, down 29 cents from Friday's close.

Big companies’ earnings will predestine whether stocks are to drop lower this week.

Some of the giants slated to report the coming week are Intel Corp. (INTC: chart), Pfizer Inc. (PFE: chart), General Motors Corp. (GM: chart), Ford Motor Co. (F: chart), Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER: chart), Coca-Cola Co. (KO: chart), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO: chart), eBay Inc. (EBAY: chart)


In the News:

Finance Officials Press Ahead on Debt Relief for Poor Nations
Microsoft to Launch Biggest Ad Campaign
Adobe to Acquire Macromedia in $3.4B Deal
Crude Futures Continue Freefall in Asia


Earnings Headlines:

Bank of China Q1 pre-tax profit up
Check Point Software posts higher Q1 profit
Philips sinks on weak Q1 net profit and revenues
Macromedia Comments on 4Q Fiscal 2005
Adobe Systems Provides Q2 FY2005 Intra-Quarter Business Update