The euro rose to near 1.3000 after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to keep rates unchanged, as expected, while signs of an improving jobs market in the United States supported equities ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls.

The ECB left its benchmark rate at 0.75%, where it has been since July. At the subsequent speech, ECB President, Mario Draghi offered little details on the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program announced last month, although he said it has helped to ease market tensions. Regarding a potential Spanish bailout, Draghi said that is up to Madrid to decide if reforms taken are enough or if it would need aid.

Wall Street indexes opened higher, also underpinned by better-than-expected jobs data. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose slightly to 367,000 in week ended September 23 versus 370,000 expected. Later today, investors will also be watching the release of the