In this report:

• Some are annoyed
• European news affects euro reception
• Britain takes 'wait and see' approach
• Frankfurt: Ground zero
• Dangers for the dollar?

(CNN) -- Europe entered uncharted waters Monday with trading in the new euro currency in financial markets around the world.

The first full international trading day for the euro kicked off in Australia, when electronic trading began in Sydney at 5 a.m. (1800 GMT). Initial trading in the euro was light, as expected.

At the Westpac Bank foreign exchange trading room, there was a hum of activity from traders and media taking pictures and television footage of the opening of trade in the euro.

"People are just having a small punt so they can say they dealt in the euro," said Wayne Raven, a senior manager at Westpac Bank.

Dressed in white shirts and ties, traders gazed intently at their computer screens, but many also took breaks in search of coffee and croissants for breakfast.

In Tokyo and Hong Kong, euro trading also began early Monday. Bank of America executive Yasuhisa Morikuni said, "It has been quiet so far. We haven't seen any surprises this morning."

In general, Asian institutions were buying the new currency and European ones were selling it, dealers said.

On European streets and at airport money exchange counters over the weekend, the euro got a cool reception.

"As far as I'm concerned, the euro is a load of rubbish," said one German.

"I really don't understand all this," said a Japanese tourist trying to exchange yen for European money at Tokyo's international airport.

For the moment, the euro only exists electronically. It can be charged to a credit card or written as a check, but coins and notes will not appear until January 1, 2002.

In the meantime, German marks, French francs, Italian lira and other individual European currencies will represent the euro in cash transactions.

Many major stores in Europe were showing prices in both euros and their national currencies -- but in Germany, most shops posted only marks.

The enthusiasm with which Japanese investors initially greeted the euro has been replaced by a mood of caution amid worries over Europe's economic and political direction, fund managers and officials at major life insurers say.

"From January, I think the market will be more sensitive towards negative news," said Minoru Kobayashi, manager for Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s foreign bonds investment division.

The euro began trading at $1.1747 and 133.15 yen.

Euro fever gripped Japanese investors last May, when the European Union held a landmark summit in Brussels, agreeing to launch the euro with 11 members and appointing Wim Duisenbergthe first president of the European Central Bank.

But the climate has changed since May, as a slowdown in European economies and the rise of leftist governments in Europe cast doubts over the euro's prospects.

London, the world's largest financial center, was also bracing for the euro trading debut, despite the fact that Britain opted not to adopt the new currency.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has said it will wait to decide whether joining the single currency is in Britain's economic interest, and then put the question to the people in a referendum.

Sweden and Denmark also have chosen to stay out of the euro for now, and Greece is trying to qualify economically.

"A successful EMU means growth and jobs for all Europe, including the U.K. We wish it well," Sir Stephen Wall, Britain's ambassador to the European Union, has said.

The Bank of England said Sunday night that the conversion appeared to have gone smoothly and that banks were ready.

"All this work has been as, or more, complicated in London than in the euro area itself because of the scale of international currency and securities business conducted by major firms active here," said David Clementi, deputy governor of the Bank of England.

"The conversion has been one of the largest logistical operations ever undertaken in the London market, with an estimated 30,000 staff," he said.

As of Monday, any British investment bank that wants to buy and sell shares in European companies will have to do so in euros. Exchange rates between the euro and the 11 national currencies of participating countries weren't fixed until Thursday, which left financial institutions scrambling through the weekend to get everything ready.

By Sunday evening, officials at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany -- ground zero for euro monetary policy -- declared the weekend changeover a success. ECB monitors found no glitches at any of the national banks or key financial institutions in any of the euro nations.

"Preparations have gone well," said Heering Ligthart, president of the Association Cambiste Internationale, an international foreign exchange dealers association. "People will start very slowly."

But Hughes Colmant, who helped oversee the euro reorganization at the Banque Nationale de Paris, calls Monday "the day of all the dangers."

While debate rages over whether the euro will one day replace the dollar as the world's biggest reserve currency, few deny the dollar's status appears to be in decline.

Of more than $1 trillion worth of foreign currency in reserve at central banks around the world, analysts reckon the dollar's share has fallen from more than two-thirds 20 years ago to just over half.

Brushing aside fears over its durability and untested status, many argue the euro will erode dollar dominance further.

"In five years' time something like 30-40 percent of central bank reserves will be held in euros," said Avinash Persaud, head of currency research in Europe at U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan.

Correspondents Kim Underwood, Fiona Foster, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.