In the currency market, the dollar firmed against the euro. Late Thursday, the euro was trading at $1.5895 vs. $1.595 on Wednesday.

It was a day of clashing influences, as the buck sank to a record low of $1.5981 early, but came back as the day wore on.

The Philadelphia Fed led the way early, reporting that factories in the region showed weaker conditions in April. The Philly Fed index fell to minus 24.9, from minus 17.4 in March, marking the fifth straight month of negative readings.

But the Conference Board then said its leading indicators gauge of future economic growth rose 0.1% in March. It was the first visit to positive territory after five consecutive monthly declines.

Then the euro got slammed after Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Euro Group, called the common currency’s recent rise “undesirable.”

“Juncker’s remarks may be the catalyst for an interim euro pullback that the bulls are seeking for renewed buying at lower levels,” commented Ashraf Laidi, of CMC Markets US.

The pullback could be brief. “Since yesterday euro bulls have tried to make a run at $1.60 four separate times but have been repelled each time with the defense of option barriers at that level remaining intact,” wrote Boris Schlossberg, of Forex Capital Markets LLC.

“Still, it may just be a matter of time before this seminal level falls, taking out the many stops likely placed there,” Schlossberg said.

And looking forward, legendary billionaire George Soros said that, “The whole world is facing a very serious financial crisis … I call it the most serious crisis of our lifetime [because the whole] financial system is seriously disrupted.”