LONDON, 9 December 2004 — The dollar posted solid gains against the euro here yesterday as traders re-positioned themselves after several weeks of steep declines that saw the US currency “fall too far too fast,” an analyst said here.
The single European currency in late-day trading was at 1.3251 dollars, down from 1.3418 in New York late Tuesday. The dollar was meanwhile at 104.75 yen, against 102.92 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, European stock markets retreated yesterday. In London the FTSE 100 index fell 0.52 percent to finish at 4,703.9, while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.33 percent to end the session at 3,775.04. In Frankfurt the DAX lost 0.27 percent to close at 4,201.35. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares fell 0.21 percent to 2,912.44.
In New York, US stocks rose yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52.17 points, or 0.50 percent, at 10,492.53. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 4.64 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,181.71. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was up 9.20 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,123.86. Asian stock markets closed mixed yesterday.
