LONDON, 13 September 2003 — The dollar fell sharply against the euro yesterday after anxiously awaited US retail sales figures and a consumer sentiment survey failed to live up to the market’s high expectations.
The single European currency fell to 1.1304 dollars in early European trading from 1.1207 dollars late on Thursday.
The dollar stood at 117.37 yen against 117.07 on Thursday. The single European currency climbed to the 1.1300-dollar level after the release of data.
Meanwhile, European share prices retreated. The London FTSE 100 index lost 0.28 percent to finish at 4,237.8 points, in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.77 percent to close at 3,322.56 points and the Frankfurt DAX was showing a loss of 2.03 percent at 3,494.39 points in late trades. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro-zone shares fell 1.09 percent to 2,544.6 points.
Elsewhere in Europe, Milan’s Mib 30 index edged down 0.44 percent to 25,682 points and Madrid’s Ibex 35 slumped 1.27 percent to 7,022.9.
In New York, the technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 13.87 points, or 0.75 percent, at 1,832.22 after falling more than 1 percent earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sagged 41.48 points, or 0.44 percent, at 9,418.28, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 5 points, or 0.49 percent, at 1,011.42.
Asian stock markets were mixed yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index gained 166.48 points to close at 10,712.81, off a high 10,751.43, while the broader Topix index of all first-section stocks gained 18.71 points to 1,042.64.
In Sydney, the benchmark SP ASX 200 index closed down 1.4 points or 0.04 percent at its intraday low of 3,192.5, off a high of 3,207.6.