LONDON, 16 September 2004 — The dollar surged ahead against the euro here yesterday in response to an unexpectedly strong reading in a regional index that investors saw as heralding a pickup in US economic momentum. The single European currency in late-day trading was at 1.2144 dollars, down from 1.2244 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar had meanwhile risen to 110.35 yen from 109.66 on Tuesday.
Factory activity in the New York region accelerated in September, with the Empire index rising to 28.3 from a revised 13.2 in August, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced. The figure was well above analysts’ forecasts for a rise to around 18.3.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2244 dollars against 1.2244 late on Tuesday in New York, 134.02 yen (134.29), 0.6834 pounds (0.6816) and 1.5433 Swiss francs (1.5419). The dollar stood at 110.35 yen (109.66) and 1.2703 Swiss francs (1.2588). The pound was at 1.7772 dollars (1.7960), and 196.11 yen (196.93).
US stocks fell yesterday after a profit warning from Coca-Cola Co. fueled concern about corporate profits and a Goldman Sachs survey showed softening corporate spending on technology. Shares of Coca-Cola, the world’s biggest soft drink company and a Dow component, fell to a 16-month low after it said second-half earnings would be below estimates because of weakness in key markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 74.03 points, or 0.72 percent, at 10,244.19 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 7.36 points, or 0.65 percent, at 1,120.89. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index was down 21.22 points, or 1.11 percent, at 1,894.18. NASDAQ, which had seen a rebound in recent sessions, faltered after Goldman Sachs cut its view on the software and hardware sectors after its survey of chief information officers showed a slowdown in technology spending in 2004 and 2005.