Dollar Bulls Wary, Bush Faint Scant Impact
January 14, 2002 02:30:00 AM ET
news.moneycentral.msn.com
By James Poole
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Dollar bulls were in a cautious mood Monday after Japanese officials hinted the yen had fallen far enough and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the world's largest economy still faced significant risks.
News that President Bush had fainted and fallen off a couch after choking on a pretzel while watching a televised football game had little market impact. His doctor said a subsequent medical examination showed he was fine.
But Japan's poor economy and the parlous state of its banks, saddled by trillions of yen in bad loans, pointed to a fresh decline in the yen as the world's second largest economy seemed to have only one option left -- export its way out of trouble.
The closure of Tokyo's financial markets Monday due to a local holiday becalmed regional trading, but business is likely to perk up this week on the back of scheduled U.S. economic and corporate news.
Tokyo share markets look set to fall when they reopen on Tuesday. ``With the yen and the economy slipping in tandem, it's difficult to see foreigners buying into Japan,'' said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.
Indian shares rose two percent in Monday morning trade as tensions eased with Pakistan, while Seoul shares ended up 2.29 percent, led by electronic parts maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co on an upbeat earnings forecast.
Hong Kong blue chips were slightly higher, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index at 11,204.88 points in mid-afternoon, up 0.34 percent. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index was up 1.47 percent to 1,729.13 in mid-afternoon. |
