Ramsey
17-10-2002, Thu 11:40 AM
Dollar Up Vs Euro الدولار مرتفع ضد اليورو
Thursday October 17, 2:56 AM EDT
By Kazunori Takada
TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar firmed to a one-week high against the euro on Thursday, supported by a rise in U.S. stock futures, but selling by Japanese exporters as well as profit-takers blocked it from gaining against the yen.
Traders said the market was cutting long euro positions against the yen after the single currency failed to maintain a three-year peak of 123.05 yen reached on Tuesday.
The fall in the euro/yen was also pressuring the euro against the dollar, they said.
"The market's movement today is very complex and it looks as if it's being moved by various position adjustments rather than news," said Noriyuki Kato, head of foreign exchange at ING in Tokyo.
In a similar reaction to the weekend bombing in Bali that killed close to 200 people, the market was little moved by two explosions in the southern Philippines that left three dead.
As of 0605 GMT, the euro was at 97.79 cents, its lowest since October 8, from 98.10 in late New York trade. The single currency fell to 121.59 yen from 122.04.
The dollar was at 124.33 yen, compared with 124.47 in late U.S. trade.
Dealers said sales were heavy above 124.75 to 125 yen. That level is roughly the middle mark between this year's high above 135 and low around 115 yen and has been seen as a target for taking profits.
But traders said the dollar's fall against the yen could be temporary.
"The market is in an adjustment phase after hitting 125 yen. I think if the dollar stays above 124 yen this week, we could see a further rise to around 126 or 127 yen," said ING's Kato.
The greenback rose briefly to a four-month high of 125.05 on Wednesday.
STOCKS LIFT DOLLAR
Dollar sentiment was improving overall on the latest rebound in U.S. stock futures, triggered after International Business Machines Corp announced better-than-expected results.
"The market is embracing hopes that global share prices may have bottomed out this time," said a fund manager at a European financial advisory company.
A fall in share prices was the main reason the dollar dropped earlier this year. Investors had worried that U.S. share markets would be unable to attract foreign funds the United States needs to finance its current account deficit.
"I think many people are still unconvinced that they should be bullish on stocks," the fund manager said. "If coming economic indicators, such as industrial output later today, endorse recovery, that would make dollar-buying a lot easier."
U.S. industrial production data is due at 1315 GMT. Economists surveyed by Reuters said output likely grew 0.1 percent in September after falling 0.3 percent in August.
In Tokyo, a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy will be held later on Thursday where the government is expected to discuss an anti-delation package to help soften the impact of its bank reform plans, which many believe could lead to more bankruptcies and job losses.
"The market thinks reforms will bring some pain to the Japanese economy, so the yen will remain under pressure," said Shogo Nagaya, forex manager at Nomura Trust and Banking Co.
"But if the government comes up with thorough reform plans that please investors, Japanese share prices may rise. In that case, the yen may recover."
But others said no market-moving factors were likely to emerge from the meeting.
"The market's main focus is on the interim report and how the government will tackle the bad-loan problem," said a spot dealer at a Japanese bank.
Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said on Wednesday he planned to release an outline on measures to tackle bad loans at banks by early next week.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
المصدر (http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&feed=bus&src=202§ion=news&news_id=bus-n17322568&date=20021017&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw)
Thursday October 17, 2:56 AM EDT
By Kazunori Takada
TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar firmed to a one-week high against the euro on Thursday, supported by a rise in U.S. stock futures, but selling by Japanese exporters as well as profit-takers blocked it from gaining against the yen.
Traders said the market was cutting long euro positions against the yen after the single currency failed to maintain a three-year peak of 123.05 yen reached on Tuesday.
The fall in the euro/yen was also pressuring the euro against the dollar, they said.
"The market's movement today is very complex and it looks as if it's being moved by various position adjustments rather than news," said Noriyuki Kato, head of foreign exchange at ING in Tokyo.
In a similar reaction to the weekend bombing in Bali that killed close to 200 people, the market was little moved by two explosions in the southern Philippines that left three dead.
As of 0605 GMT, the euro was at 97.79 cents, its lowest since October 8, from 98.10 in late New York trade. The single currency fell to 121.59 yen from 122.04.
The dollar was at 124.33 yen, compared with 124.47 in late U.S. trade.
Dealers said sales were heavy above 124.75 to 125 yen. That level is roughly the middle mark between this year's high above 135 and low around 115 yen and has been seen as a target for taking profits.
But traders said the dollar's fall against the yen could be temporary.
"The market is in an adjustment phase after hitting 125 yen. I think if the dollar stays above 124 yen this week, we could see a further rise to around 126 or 127 yen," said ING's Kato.
The greenback rose briefly to a four-month high of 125.05 on Wednesday.
STOCKS LIFT DOLLAR
Dollar sentiment was improving overall on the latest rebound in U.S. stock futures, triggered after International Business Machines Corp announced better-than-expected results.
"The market is embracing hopes that global share prices may have bottomed out this time," said a fund manager at a European financial advisory company.
A fall in share prices was the main reason the dollar dropped earlier this year. Investors had worried that U.S. share markets would be unable to attract foreign funds the United States needs to finance its current account deficit.
"I think many people are still unconvinced that they should be bullish on stocks," the fund manager said. "If coming economic indicators, such as industrial output later today, endorse recovery, that would make dollar-buying a lot easier."
U.S. industrial production data is due at 1315 GMT. Economists surveyed by Reuters said output likely grew 0.1 percent in September after falling 0.3 percent in August.
In Tokyo, a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy will be held later on Thursday where the government is expected to discuss an anti-delation package to help soften the impact of its bank reform plans, which many believe could lead to more bankruptcies and job losses.
"The market thinks reforms will bring some pain to the Japanese economy, so the yen will remain under pressure," said Shogo Nagaya, forex manager at Nomura Trust and Banking Co.
"But if the government comes up with thorough reform plans that please investors, Japanese share prices may rise. In that case, the yen may recover."
But others said no market-moving factors were likely to emerge from the meeting.
"The market's main focus is on the interim report and how the government will tackle the bad-loan problem," said a spot dealer at a Japanese bank.
Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said on Wednesday he planned to release an outline on measures to tackle bad loans at banks by early next week.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
المصدر (http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&feed=bus&src=202§ion=news&news_id=bus-n17322568&date=20021017&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw)