LONDON, 7 September 2005 — The dollar crept up against the euro here yesterday on a better-than-expected report on momentum in the US services sector. The single European currency in late-day trade was at 1.2495 dollars against 1.2537 late Monday in New York. The dollar was meanwhile trading at 109.55 yen, up from 109.22 on Monday. The ISM services index rose to 65.0 from 60.5 in July, beating forecasts of a reading of 61.3. It was the 29th consecutive month of growth and the highest reading since April 2004.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2495 dollars against 1.2537 late on Monday in London, 136.94 yen (136.88), 0.6777 pounds (0.6800) and 1.5436 Swiss francs (1.5445). The dollar stood at 109.55 yen (109.22) and 1.2349 Swiss francs (1.2324).
Meanwhile, the London FTSE 100 index gained 0.40 percent to close at 5,359.20 while in Paris the CAC 40 added 0.96 percent to reach 4,472.55. In Frankfurt the DAX was up 1.19 percent at the end of the day at 4,968.28. The Euro Stoxx 5O index of leading euro zone issues shot up 1.17 percent to 3,341.80.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 101.27 points, or 0.97 percent, at 10,548.25. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 11.28 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,229.30, and the technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index rose 20.57 points, or 0.96 percent, at 2,161.46. Asian stocks closed narrowly mixed again yesterday.
