LONDON/NEW YORK, 23 October 2003 — The dollar suffered sharp falls in late trade yesterday after Wall Street stumbled to a poor open, denting sentiment on the US currency, analysts said. The pound, meanwhile, rallied to a five-year high against the dollar after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes for October revealed a split 5-4 vote to keep interest rates unchanged at 3.50 percent.

The vote appeared to increase the chances that the committee at its next meeting in November will raise interest rates. The single European currency was changing hands for 1.1795 dollars compared with 1.1667 late on Tuesday in New York. The dollar stood at 108.87 yen against 109.46 on Tuesday. A pound bought 1.6895 dollars, up from 1.6748.

US stocks moved broadly lower yesterday as Wall Street reacted to weak revenue growth at some firms reporting earnings, while the tech sector suffered from a murky forecast from Amazon.com. The Dow Jones industrials fell 109.77 points (1.13 percent) to 9,637.87 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ sank 32.03 points (1.65 percent) to 1,908.87 at 1530 GMT. The Standard and Poor’s 500 declined 12.78 points (1.22 percent) to 1,033.24.

Asia’s major stock markets were pegged back yesterday as investors locked in profits after recent gains. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index lost 141.90 points to close at 10,889.62, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was down 1.79 percent or 19.56 points at 1,073.75.

Hong Kong share prices closed slightly lower with profit-taking ill said disappointing ratings for new television shows at News Corp.’s Fox unit in the US had added to pressure on the stock. The key Hang Seng index lost 12.06 points or 0.10 percent to close at 12,238.63.

Singapore share prices fell 1.20 percent as the market consolidated after five consecutive sessions of gains. The Straits Times Index was down 21.60 points at 1,771.26 and the broader All-Singapore Equities index was 3.54 points lower at 486.75.

In London, oil prices retreated yesterday after estimates of US inventories calmed worries about heating oil supplies going into the northern hemisphere winter. The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in December dropped 20 cents to $28.43 per barrel in late deals.