FOREX-Dollar, yen gain as stock tumble dents risk appetite
Reuters
Published Oct 30, 2009 02:14PM ET
* Dollar, yen rally as investors seek safe-haven
* Stocks post steep losses, led by financial shares
* Euro, commodity FX tumble as risk appetite deteriorates (Adds comment, updates prices, changes byline)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rallied against the euro and a basket of currencies on Friday as a sharp sell-off in the stock market enhanced the greenback's safe-haven appeal.
Major indexes on Wall Street fell more than 2 percent, weighed down by financial shares, while data painted a mixed picture of the economy, denting market's euphoria sparked by Thursday's upbeat third-quarter economic growth data.
A deterioration in investors' appetite for risk also pushed the Japanese yen sharply higher and weighed heavily on higher-yielding, commodity currencies including the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
"The main driver is equities," said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank. "You're still seeing the relationship between the dollar and the equity market holding intact."
In afternoon trading, the euro
The ICE Futures dollar index <.dxy>, a measure of the greenback's value against six major currencies, rose 0.4 percent to 76.250 and was up 1 percent on the week, its best weekly gain since June.
The dollar
The yen also rose sharply against other major currencies.
The euro fell 2.2 percent to 132.66 yen
(Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.