LONDON, 4 November 2004 — World stock markets climbed yesterday as US President George W. Bush emerged victorious from a cliff-hanger election, while oil prices swung wildly and an early dollar rally faded.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.42 percent to 10,177.83 points in late morning trading.
The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index advanced 1.37 percent to 1,145.98 points. “Most on Wall Street got the man they wanted,” said Alfred Goldman, a US-based analyst at AG Edwards.
Oil prices rode a roller coaster, rising above $50 in Asian trading before plunging below $49 in New York as news of a jump in US commercial crude oil inventories calmed markets’ supply worries.
In Europe, stock markets got off to a flying start amid expectations of a Bush win, closing in positive territory but off their highs of the day. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.54 percent at 4,718.50, the DAX rose 0.04 percent to 4,039.04 points in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 gained 0.11 percent to 3,769.93 points in Paris.
Earlier in Asia, Taipei added 1.79 percent, Seoul closed up 1.70 percent and Hong Kong rose 0.67 percent. Tokyo was closed. Oil prices initially flew higher as traders in Asia and Europe bet on a Bush victory.
But markets turned after the US government reported a 6.3-million-barrel weekly jump in US commercial crude oil inventories, easing fears of a supply crunch during the northern hemisphere winter. At about 1645 GMT the main US oil contract was 49 cents lower at $49.13 a barrel.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar rose initially but — as widely expected — the rally soon ground to a halt as economists warned a Bush victory would do little to ease worries over the US economy and big trade deficit.
In late European trading the euro stood at $1.2787 against 1.2741 late on Tuesday. The dollar was quoted at 106.18 yen against 106.02 on Tuesday.
Gold prices slipped as the dollar advanced, but later moved into positive territory as the greenback came under pressure. The spot gold price rose $1.99 on the day to $423.54 an ounce on the London Bullion Market.
Asian stock markets closed with solid gains yesterday, dealers said. South Korean share prices closed 1.70 percent higher as foreign and institutional investor support for blue chips helped push the benchmark index through the 860-point resistance level, dealers said.
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.67 percent higher, led by select blue chips as the market welcomed indications that President George W. Bush will hold onto office, dealers said.