LONDON, 10 March 2005 — The euro moved higher against the dollar yesterday, breaking above 1.34 dollars for the first time since early January as investors remained wary of the US currency.
The euro rose to 1.3410 dollars from 1.3343 late on Tuesday in New York. At one point, the single currency hit 1.3420 dollars, its highest level since Jan. 4, before easing lower.
The dollar stood at 103.77 yen from 104.70 on Tuesday.
The pound fell against major currencies after it was revealed that Britain’s trade deficit worsened in the last quarter of 2004 and into 2005.
Meanwhile, European shares lost ground yesterday on technical factors and rising bond yields that lured money out of equities, particularly high-dividend-yielding shares such as utilities, dealers said. The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.29 percent to 4,996.01 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.48 percent to 4,375,60 points, and in Paris the CAC 40 was off 0.46 percent to 4,066.69.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares lost 0.50 percent to 3,081.99 points.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index slipped 0.36 percent to 376.32 points, the Swiss SMI was off 0.25 percent at 5,965.49, in Milan the SP Mib was down 0.27 percent at 31,963, in Madrid the Ibex-35 shed 0.74 percent to 9,410.3 and in Brussels the Bel-20 closed 0.60 percent lower at 3,133.65.
US stocks fell yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 44.92 points, or 0.41 percent, at 10,867.70. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 4.43 points, or 0.36 percent, at 1,215.00. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was down 2.64 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,070.91.
Asian stocks posted solid gains yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 79.78 points to 11,966.69, the highest finish since April 28, when the blue-chip indicator closed at 12,004.29.
In Seoul, the KOSPI index closed up 8.51 points at 1,008.79, the best level for the day, after falling to as low as 990.44.
In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index closed up 59.76 points at 13,941.47, off a low of 13,871.27 and high of 13,996.46, on turnover of 20.1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.57 billion).
The Straits Times Index rose 23.66 points to 2,184.29 in Singapore, while the broader All Singapore Equities index added 5.4 points to 563.99.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share benchmark Sensex index shed 22.27 points to close at 6,892.82.
