LONDON/NEW YORK, 11 December 2003 — The dollar came under broad-based pressure late in the day in London as the euro staged a rebound after the US currency firmed on what appeared to be prospects for higher interest rates in the United States.
The euro was at $1.2212, against 1.2255 late Tuesday in New York. Against the yen the dollar firmed to 108.45 from 107.11 on Tuesday. The euro at one point fell back to $1.2188. But the dollar’s mild lift from Tuesday’s statement on interest rates by policymakers at the US Federal Reserve faded away.
Stocks in the United States hovered near the unchanged mark yesterday, one day after the blue-chip Dow made a brief foray above the 10,000 mark, as investors await fresh direction from a batch of economic reports later this week.
The major market gauges bounced around the unchanged mark throughout the morning. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrials added 22 points, or 0.23 percent, at 9,946, after briefly flitting above the 10,000 mark on Tuesday for the first time since May 2002. The broad Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 1 point, or 0.10 percent, to 1,061. The NASDAQ nosed up 2 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,910.
Asian stock markets edged lower after falls on Wall Street dampened investor sentiment. Trading on most Asian bourses was bearish after Wall Street fell on concern the Fed signaled an inclination to begin considering raising interest rates from their current 45-year lows.
Japanese share prices closed 2.11 percent lower after losses on Wall Street and on concerns a stronger yen will hurt Japan’s export-led recovery. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index lost 213.72 points to end the day at 9,910.56, below the key 10,000 level. The broader Topix index of all first section issues fell 16.81 points or 1.69 percent to 980.58.
Hong Kong share prices inched higher as investors switched to laggards and added more China-related shares to their portfolios. The key Hang Seng Index gained 4.74 points or 0.04 percent to close at 12,398.38.
Singapore share prices closed flat with trading interest muted in the absence of fresh leads. There was interest in some blue chips but volume was thin, a dealer with a local brokerage house said. The Straits Times Index closed down 0.21 points at 1,711.15 and the All-Singapore Equities index dropped 1.51 points to 461.11.
In London, oil prices showed modest change yesterday despite a large and seemingly price-supportive drop in US commercial stockpiles of crude oil shown in weekly data. The price of Brent North Sea crude oil for January delivery lost 18 cents a barrel to $29.45 in London.
In contrast, New York’s reference light sweet crude January contract was 27 cents higher at $32.03 per barrel.
