Euro zone trade remained in surplus in May and the April surplus was revised up, data showed on Wednesday, as exports continued to grow twice as fast as imports despite a strong euro.
The dollar rose versus the yen for the first time in three sessions after a government report showed foreign investors bought a record amount of U.S. securities in May.
CNBC's Trillion Dollar Survey finds expectations among top money managers that the stock market will continue to rally this year, the next interest rate move by the Federal Reserve will be a rate cut and that Democrats will capture the White House in 2008.
The euro zone's external trade balance swung to a surplus in March from a deficit in February, showing exports were likely to have contributed to economic growth in the first quarter despite the strength of the euro.
Euro zone inflation in April came in higher than initially estimated but still within the European Central Bank's target, data showed, pointing to subdued price-growth pressures despite robust economic expansion.
Tuesday after the bell, I reported Disney earnings. I started my report by saying the company "hit it out of the park" on earnings, beating the street by six cents. I then said revenues missed a bit, while still growing.
The European Central Bank's vigilance will ensure future price stability and a stable euro, ECB Governing Council member Klaus Liebscher wrote in an Austrian newspaper on Wednesday.