LONDON, 30 December 2004 — The euro rose to another record of 1.3648 dollars in early trading yesterday and then eased on profit-taking and technical factors in a thin market to settle in late trading at 1.3569 dollars. The dollar was being quoted at 104.15 yen from 103.03 late on Tuesday.
The euro broke early above its previous record of 1.3644, reaching 1.3648, in trading marked by the re-opening of London financial markets after Christmas holidays.
The euro was being quoted late in the day at 1.3569 dollars from 1.3611 late on Tuesday, at 141.38 yen from 140.27, 0.7081 pounds from 0.7057, and at 1.5430 Swiss francs from 1.5428.
The dollar was at 104.15 yen from 103.03 and at 1.1367 Swiss francs from 1.1335. The price of gold was fixed at $440.25 an ounce from $441.10 late on Friday.
Meanwhile, the London stock market, returning from a long Christmas break, set a firm pace yesterday, closing with a gain of 0.45 percent in contrast to a generally lackluster picture on other leading European markets.
The market was well supported by interest in banking shares, and the FTSE index of 100 leading shares closed with a gain of 21.7 points or 0.45 percent to 4,819.8 points - the highest closing value since June 12 2002 - in thin trading.
In Frankfurt, The DAX index fell by 0.33 percent to 4,247.75 points, having gained 0.62 percent on Tuesday.
In Paris the CAC 40 index ended with a small gain of 2.33 points or 0.06 percent to 3,827.16 points in small trading volume. The Eurostoxx 50 fell by 0.07 percent.
In Milan, the SP Mib index of 40 leading shares fell by 0.05 percent to 30,888 points, in Switzerland the SMI index rose by 0.10 percent to 5,692.4 points, the Dutch AEX index fell by 0.31 points to 347.32 points, and in Madrid the Ibex-35 index rose by 23.6 points or by 0.26 percent to 9,100.7 points.
In New York, US blue chips stayed firmly lower yesterday hurt by a fall in airplane manufacturer Boeing Co. after China said it will not approve new aircraft purchases next year in an effort to curb overheated growth in China’s airline sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 39.83 points, or 0.37 percent, at 10,814.78. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 1.33 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,212.15. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 1.61 points, or 0.07 percent, at 2,175.60.
Asian stock markets closed mixed yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 42.57 points to 11,381.56, after hitting a five-month high of 11,500.96 earlier in the day. In Seoul, the KOSPI index closed up 5.84 points or 0.66 percent at 884.27, the high for the day and off a low of 868.04.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up 69.43 points at 14,266.38.
In Sydney, the broader All Ordinaries index fell 5.3 points to 4,044.0.
In Singapore, The Straits Times Index closed 0.30 points or 0.01 percent lower at 2,057.82, while the broader All-Singapore Equities index rose 0.65 points to close at 529.2.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 1.03 points at 907.58. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index shed 3.15 points to 1,822.83. It moved between 1,814.88 and 1,832.15 points.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share benchmark Sensex index rose 4.46 points or 0.07 percent to 6,567.94, to top the previous closing record of 6,564.48 set on Tuesday.