LONDON, 17 February 2005 — The euro lost its perch above the 1.30-dollar mark yesterday after US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made optimistic noises about the US economy, but his remarks did not help the dollar rise very far.
The dollar rose 0.5 percent against the euro, 0.6 percent against the pound, 0.7 percent against the yen and 0.8 percent against the Swiss franc during Greenspan’s semi-annual report to the US Congress. The euro partly rebounded to 1.2991 dollars in late European trading, down from 1.3020 late on Tuesday in New York.
The dollar rose to 105.64 yen from 105.10 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, European stock markets fell yesterday.
The London FTSE 100 index dropped 0.11 percent to 5,053.2 points, the Frankfurt DAX 30 lost 0.76 percent to 4,368.77 points and in Paris the CAC 40 fell 0.53 percent to 4,009.02. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares declined 0.60 percent to 3,068.55 points.
In New York, US stocks were lower yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32.82 points, or 0.30 percent, at 10,804.50. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 3.32 points, or 0.27 percent, at 1,206.80. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 5.05 points, or 0.24 percent, at 2,084.16.
Asian stock markets closed narrowly mixed yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 44.81 points to 11,601.68, off a high of 11,684.91 and a low of 11,585.46.
In Seoul, the KOSPI index closed up 2.68 points at 971.56, off a low of 965.58 and a high of 979.00.
In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index closed up 19.66 points at 14,015.49, off a high of 14,044.83.
IN Manila, the composite index closed down 11.62 points at 2,078.48. It traded between 2,073.94 and 2,129.51. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 62.28 points to close at 6,607.78.
