LONDON/NEW YORK, 11 September 2003 — Major currencies were little changed in late London trade yesterday, with economic policy remarks by European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg having little impact on the market, analysts said. The single European currency had nonetheless dropped to 1.1182 dollars from 1.1225 late on Tuesday in New York. The dollar stood at 117.11 yen against 116.81 on Tuesday.
The euro had fallen against the dollar earlier in the day as investors locked in profits. “It’s relatively quiet. The dollar had been making a little bit of a comeback after the sell-off of the last few days,” said Adam Cole, currency strategist at Credit Agricole Indosuez.
The euro spiked briefly when Duisenberg said it would be easier for the ECB to meet its inflation target if the single currency rose to $1.20. “It was taken as a green light for the euro to go higher,” said Paul Mackel, strategist at ABN Amro.
The gains were quickly given back, however, as traders digested Duisenberg’s remarks, noting that his utterances are often clarified later, Mackel said.
In the United States, stocks fell for a second straight day yesterday, with technology stocks like chip maker Texas Instruments Inc. leading the decline, as investors worried the market may have rallied too far, too fast. Texas Instruments offered hope that the semiconductor sector is improving, but its forecasts failed to impress those who have already been anticipating a recovery in the sector.
The technology-packed NASDAQ Composite Index has soared some 40 percent so far this year on anticipation of a pickup in the economy and corporate profits in coming months. The NASDAQ dropped 29.7 points, or 1.59 percent, to 1,843. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 36 points, or 0.38 percent, to 9,480, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 6 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,016.
Asian share prices extended their losses yesterday on profit-taking after confirmation that a Singapore man has been infected with the SARS virus. Declines on Wall Street added to the negative sentiment in Asia after many markets in the region fell on Tuesday before the suspected SARS case was confirmed.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index lost 65.72 points to end the day at 10,856.32 and the broader Topix index of all first-section stocks declined 1.73 points to 1,043.98.
In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrials dropped 0.83 percent to 9,507.20 while the tech-heavy NASDAQ shed 0.80 percent to 1,873.43 at the closing bell. Selling was triggered by Tuesday’s decline on Wall Street as investors ignored the announcement, just before trading began, that gross domestic product growth in April-June had been revised up to a real 1.0 percent from the previous estimate of 0.6 percent.
Share prices in Hong Kong closed 2.14 percent lower, extending Tuesday’s losses as investors reacted nervously to the news of a fresh SARS case in Singapore. The key Hang Seng index lost 236.51 points to close at 10,810.31.
Share prices in Singapore continued weaker, giving up early gains after concern over a fresh SARS case in the city-state saw the market lose 2.60 percent Tuesday. The Straits Times index closed down 13.43 points or 0.85 percent at 1,566.71. The broader All-Singapore Equities index was down 2.12 points at 426.34.
Oil prices rose yesterday as the US government reported a sharp decline in crude oil stocks, outweighing a jump in heating oil supply ahead of the northern winter. New York crude was up 14 cents at $29.32 a barrel. Brent crude in London was up 11 cents at $27.48.