LONDON, 16 April 2004 — The dollar held on to the high ground against both the euro and the pound yesterday as the market shrugged off a rise in US weekly jobless claims to focus on sturdy New York manufacturing numbers, dealers said.
The single European currency fell to 1.1918 dollars from 1.1961 late on Wednesday in New York. The dollar was being traded at 108.67 yen from 108.59 on Wednesday. The pound was trading just above 1.78 dollars after earlier sinking to a new 2004 low of 1.7764 dollar.
The euro was changing hands at 1.1918 dollars from 1.1961 late on Wednesday in New York, 129.47 yen (129.96), 0.6694 pounds (0.6673) and 1.5531 Swiss francs (1.5520). The dollar stood at 108.67 yen (108.59) and 1.3033 Swiss francs (1.2980).
Meanwhile, European stock markets treaded water yesterday. The London FTSE index gained 0.45 percent to 4,505.5 points, the Frankfurt DAX closed down 0.20 percent at 4,004.61 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 slipped 0.23 percent to 3,722.76.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares closed little changed, down 0.07 percent to 2,854.53 points.
In New York, technology stocks stumbled yesterday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points to 10,388, while the broader S&P 500 Index eased 1 point to 1,127. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 22 points, or 1.08 percent, at 2,003.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 297.78 points to finish at 11,800.40. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended the morning down 271.07 points at 12,398.79.
In Taipei, the weighted index closed down 143.39 points at 6,736.79 at the low for the day on turnover of 199.33 billion Taiwan dollars ($6.02 billion). In Singapore, the Straits Times Index closed 25.29 points lower at 1,844.38.