LONDON/NEW YORK, 30 October 2003 — The pound hit a five-year high and continued to hover around 1.70 dollars in late trades here yesterday, buoyed by the near certainty that British interest rates will rise next week, dealers said. The pound traded for 1.6993 dollars, up from 1.6960 late Tuesday in New York. The euro was at 1.1687 dollars from 1.1666 on Tuesday.
The dollar traded for 108.14 yen from 108.27, after dipping into 107-yen territory for the first time since November 2000. “Buying momentum on sterling is still very much there,” said Jane Foley, analyst at Barclays Capital.
US stocks fell yesterday as investors decided to cash in some profits following two days of stock market gains on positive economic news. At 1658 GMT, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 6.67 points (0.07 percent) at 9,741.64 while the tech-laden NASDAQ was lower by 6.08 points (0.31 percent) to 1,926.18. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index was down 2.05 points (0.20 percent) to 1,044.74. Investors sold off stocks in morning trading cashing in from the recent run up in share prices.
Most stock markets in Asian rose yesterday, with investors buoyed by Wall Street’s rise after the Federal Reserve kept short term rates on hold. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index gained 178.21 points to close at 10,739.22 while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 11.96 points or 1.14 percent to 1,057.14.
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.32 percent higher but were well off early highs in trade led by the futures ahead of the expiry of the October contract Thursday. The key Hang Seng Index finished up 38.63 points at 12,130.51, off a high of 12,304.57. Singapore share prices closed 0.80 percent lower as profit-taking in blue chips reversed early gains. The Straits Times Index was down 13.81 points at 1,722.29, off an intraday high of 1,762.89.