LONDON, 16 September 2003 — The euro rose in late trade yesterday as US data that raised questions over growth outweighed a Swedish rejection of Europe’s single currency, dealers said.
The euro stood at 1.1303 dollars, against 1.1288 late on Friday in New York. The dollar was being traded at 117.40 yen against 117.43 on Friday. “It is a soft dollar market,” said Chris Furness, analyst at 4CAST.
In Europe, the Swedish krona fell to 9.15 euros from 9.08 before Sunday’s referendum, but recovered a bit from levels seen in overnight trading by Scandinavian banks, dealers said.
The dollar was being quoted at 117.40 yen (117.43) and 1.3779 Swiss francs (1.3797).
Meanwhile, European stock markets pushed upward yesterday.
The British FTSE 100 index gained 0.55 percent to 4,260.9 points and the French CAC 40 rose by 0.48 percent to close at 3,338.36 points. The German DAX 30 edged 0.14 percent higher to 3,513.09 points in late trades and the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro-zone shares advanced 0.38 percent to 2,546.78 points.
Amsterdam’s AEX index gained 0.99 percent to 331.52 points; the Swiss SMI was 0.45-percent higher at 5,331.7 points; Milan’s Mib 30 slipped 0.07 percent to 25,663 points; Madrid’s Ibex-35 advanced 0.49 percent to 7,057.6 points; and Brussels’ the Bel-20 closed 0.66-percent higher at 2,103.75 points.
US stocks edged down in light volume yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 12.43 points, or 0.13 percent, at 9,459.12. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 2.98 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,015.65. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 2.28 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,852.75.
Asian stock markets were mixed on a lack of direction yesterday.
The region’s most important market, Tokyo, was closed for a public holiday, leaving little incentive for investors to act.