LONDON, 21 July 2004 — The dollar gained against the euro on profit-taking yesterday, though trade remained cautious ahead of testimony by US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan before Congress.
The single European currency fell to 1.2378 dollars from 1.2436 late on Monday in New York.
The dollar stood at 108.34 yen against 108.14 on Monday. Elsewhere, the pound was on the backfoot after a survey released yesterday revealed that British house prices grew at their slowest pace in 10 months in June.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2378 dollars from 1.2436 late on Monday in New York, 134.10 yen (134.58), 0.6671 pounds (0.6658) and 1.5323 Swiss francs (1.5245). The dollar stood at 108.34 yen (108.14) and 1.2376 Swiss francs (1.2281). The pound was at 1.8563 dollars (1.8676), 201.11 yen (202.08) and 2.2975 Swiss francs (2.2926).
Meanwhile, European stock markets reversed early losses to squeeze out gains yesterday.
In London the FTSE 100 index added 0.42 percent to close at 4,339.4 points, in Paris the CAC 40 gained 41 percent to finish at 3,607.39 while in Frankfurt the DAX climbed 0.65 percent to end the session at 3,837.6. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares edged up also by 0.39 percent to 2,708.16 points.
US blue chips hovered near the unchanged mark yesterday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 9 points, or 0.09 percent, at 10,103.80. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 2.80 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,103.69. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index gained 17.46 points, or 0.92 percent, to 1,901.24.
Asian stock markets closed lower yesterday.