Global stocks and the euro dipped on Monday as investors cashed in some of last week's sharp gains ahead of a German ruling on the euro zone's new bailout fund, Dutch elections and potential new stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The European Central Bank's statement last week that it was prepared to buy an unlimited amount of strained euro zone government bonds pushed European shares to a 13-month high and the euro to a four-month high on hopes it could mark a turning point in the bloc's 2-1/2 year crisis.
The FTSEurofirst index of European equities started the week down 0.17 percent. The MSCI world equity index, London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX were all slightly lower.
German Bund futures rose in choppy early moves, supported by strong demand in the U.S. Treasury market, with investors betting poor jobs data at the end of last week will encourage the Fed to announce fresh monetary stimulus at its September 12-13 meeting.
Europe faces another testing week, with Dutch voters going to the polls and German's constitutional court set to rule on new powers for the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone's new bailout fund, both on Wednesday.
Data showing China's exports grew at a slower pace than forecast last month also lowered the mood.
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U.S. crude futures were down 0.1 percent at $96.32 a barrel but Brent was up 0.2 percent at $114.51.
The euro dipped 0.3 percent to $1.2786, with traders citing profit-taking in the wake of its rally on Friday, when the euro climbed to $1.2818 on trading platform EBS, its strongest level in nearly four months.
"The weak payrolls report has put QE3 firmly on the agenda for this week," said Annette Beacher, head of Asia-Pacific Research at TD Securities.