LONDON, 20 September 2005 — The euro plunged to a seven-week low against the dollar in early trading here yesterday in the aftermath of Germany’s inconclusive election but later staged a rebound.
The single European currency in late-day trade was at 1.2151 dollars against 1.2245 dollars late Friday in New York. But the euro at one point fell to 1.2101 dollars, its lowest level since July 28. The dollar was meanwhile trading at 111.31 yen after 111.34 on Friday.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2151 dollars against 1.2235 late on Friday in New York, 135.24 yen (136.21), 0.6735 pounds (0.6769) and 1.5510 Swiss francs (1.5533). The dollar stood at 111.31 yen (111.34) and 1.2767 Swiss francs (1.2691).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold rose to $461.95 from $457.20 late on Friday.
Meanwhile, European stock exchanges had mixed fortunes yesterday, with the London market rising to a four-year high while in Frankfurt share prices fell sharply following the inconclusive outcome to German elections.
Powered by oil issues, the FTSE-100 index here rose 0.40 percent to 5,429.7, its best performance since August 28, 2001.
In Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.08 percent to close at 4,505.68 while in Frankfurt the DAX plunged 1.21 percent to 4,926.13.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares gave up 0.31 percent to end the day at 3,356.28.
Elsewhere there were gains of 0.04 percent to 10,536 on the Ibex-35 in Madrid, 0.27 percent to 399.16 on the Aex in Amsterdam and 0.22 percent to 3,282.91 on the Bel 20 in Brussels.
The Swiss Market Index fell 0.09 percent to 6,804.07 while the SP Mib shed 0.03 percent to close at 34,527 in Milan.
In New York, US stocks dropped yesterday as investors warily eyed a looming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates and surging crude oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 76.66 points at 10,565.28 in mid-morning trading.
The S and P 500 was down 6.14 points at 1,231.77 and the NASDAQ composite down 11.90 points at 2,148.45.
Asian stocks closed firmer yesterday but trade was quiet with Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong all closed for public holidays.
In Sydney, the broader All Ordinaries index was up 0.2 points at 4,499.6 to just edge past Friday’s all-time high of 4,499.4.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 7.88 points to 2,298.50. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.28 points at 923.27.
In Manila, the composite index added 18.29 points to 1,928.09 after trading between 1,909.80 and 1,928.94. In Bombay, the 30-share Sensex index rose 63.88 points to 8,444.84.
