LONDON, 21 September 2005 — The dollar fell slightly against the euro yesterday. At 1600 GMT, the single European currency was trading at 1.2173 dollars from 1.2138 in late trade on Monday. The dollar strengthened to 111.59 yen from 111.49 on Monday. The euro remained in a tight trading range throughout yesterday, floating around the 1.2150-dollar level.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2173 dollars against 1.2138 late on Monday in New York, 135.87 yen (135.36), 0.6747 pounds (0.6735) and 1.5536 Swiss francs (1.5520). The dollar stood at 111.59 yen (111.49) and 1.2761 Swiss francs (1.2783).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at $464.80 from $464.50 late on Monday.
Meanwhile, European stock exchanges closed generally stronger yesterday, with Paris and Frankfurt registering major gains while London, unsettled by fears that rising oil prices could hurt consumer sentiment, closed lower.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.25 percent to 5,416.40, while in Paris the CAC 40 shot up 0.58 percent to 4,531.80, its highest level since April 2002. In Frankfurt the DAX, which fell sharply on Monday following the inconclusive outcome to the German election, gained 0.75 percent to close at 4,962.86. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares rose 0.58 percent to reach 3,375.79.
In New York, US stocks swung higher yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.47 points (0.35 percent) to 10,594.10 while the NASDAQ composite advanced 14.39 points (0.67 percent) to 2,159.65 at 1550 GMT. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index drifted up 3.67 points (0.30 percent) to 1,234.69.
Asian stocks closed mostly higher yesterday as Seoul, Sydney and Mumbai put in record breaking performances, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 189.89 points or 1.47 percent to end at 13,148.57 on turnover of 3.26 billion shares.
In Bombay, the 30-share Sensex index rose 55.44 points to 8,500.28.