LONDON, 22 September 2005 — The dollar lost ground against the euro here yesterday on fears of potential damage from Hurricane Rita and as the effect of Tuesday’s rate hike by the Federal Reserve began to fade.
The single European currency in late-day deals was at 1.2210 dollars after 1.2113 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar was meanwhile trading at 111.36 yen, down from 111.95 on Tuesday.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2210 dollars against 1.2113 late on Tuesday in New York, 135.99 yen (135.62) and 0.6748 pounds (0.6732). The dollar stood at 111.36 yen (111.95) and 1.2708 Swiss francs (1.2818).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold rose to $469.10 from $464.80 late on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, European stock exchanges wilted yesterday.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.87 percent to 5,369.7 while in Paris the CAC 40 plunged 1.41 percent to close at 4,468.06. In Frankfurt the DAX shed 1.77 percent to 4,875.22. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares dropped 1.45 percent to 3326.78.
Elsewhere there were declines of 0.13 percent to 3,284.62 on the Bel-20 in Brussels, 1.23 percent to 396.48 on the AEX in Amsterdam, 0.39 percent to 34,419 on the SP Mib in Milan, 0.79 percent to 10.500.3 on the Ibex-35 in Madrid and 1.09 percent to 6,761.02 on the Swiss Market Index.
In Asia, Japanese shares closed at new four-year high points yesterday as a groundswell of optimism over the world’s number two economy generated record turnover, dealers said.
In New YORK, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 59.92 points (0.57 percent) to 10,421.60 while the tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 13.58 points (0.64 percent) to 2,117.75 at 1540 GMT. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index dropped 5.65 points (0.46 percent) to 1,215.69.
Asian stocks closed mixed yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 48.00 points or 0.37 percent to 13,196.57, the highest level since June 2001.
In Seoul, the KOSPI index closed up 5.74 points at 1,196.67, off a high of 1,199.91 and a low of 1,185.62. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed down 18.24 points at 15,223.62, off a low of 15,162.60 and a high of 15,271.91.
In Sydney, the broader All Ordinaries lost 25.4 points at 4,501.8, also down from the record reached the previous day. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 8.77 points to 2,298.65. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.54 points to 922.57.
The Philippine Stock Exchange put on 25.64 points to 1,959.15 after trading between 1,933.51 and 1,960.29.
In Bombay, the 30-share Bombay stock exchange Sensex index shed 13.14 points at 8,487.14, recovering from the early low of 8,261.58.
