1 The dollar finished lower yesterday, after tracking another rollercoaster session on Wall Street.
2 Concern about the volatile U.S. stock market had faded in recent sessions, and traders appeared content to let the dollar languish in a narrow range until tomorrow, when the preliminary report on third-quarter U.S. gross national product is released.
3 But seesaw gyrations in the Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday put Wall Street back in the spotlight and inspired market participants to bid the U.S. unit lower.
4 UAL's decision to remain an independent company sent share prices tumbling.
5 By midmorning, the DJIA had plunged 80 points and foreign-exchange dealers quickly drove the dollar down.
6 When the DJIA modestly rebounded, the dollar bounced back in choppy dealings but ended the day below the levels of late Monday.
7 Stock prices, meanwhile, posted significant gains in later trading and closed down by only 3.69 points on the day.
8 Some dealers said that the market's strong reaction to Wall Street reflects a general uneasiness about the dollar.
9 They added that the DJIA's swift drop proved an easy excuse for the market to drive the U.S. currency in the direction it was already headed.
10 In late New York trading yesterday, the dollar was quoted at 1.8355 marks, down from 1.8470 marks Monday, and at 141.45 yen, down from 141.90 yen late Monday.
11 Sterling was quoted at $1.6055, up from $1.6030 late Monday.
12 In Tokyo Wednesday, the U.S. currency opened for trading at 141.57 yen, down from Tuesday's Tokyo close of 142.10 yen.
13 Tom Trettien, a vice president with Banque Paribas in New York, sees a break in the dollar's long-term upward trend, a trend that began in January 1988.
14 He argues that the dollar is now 'moving sideways,' adding that 'the next leg could be the beginning of a longer term bearish phase.'
15 Analysts peg the dollar's recent weakness to an underlying slowdown in the U.S. economy, highlighted by recent economic data, particularly a surprisingly sharp widening in the August U.S. trade gap.
16 They also point out that narrowing interest-rate differentials between the U.S. and its major trading partners tend to make the U.S. currency less attractive to foreign investors.
17 Despite several spurts of dollar trading, it was noted that mark-yen cross trade grabbed much of the market's attention.
18 Following the dive in U.S. stocks, the mark has strengthened more than its major counterparts.
19 Traders attribute the mark's surge to a robust West German economy and higher rate differentials.
20 But, they add that the mark's strength is in part a reflection of a shift away from U.S. assets by Japanese investors into West German investments.
21 'The question remains: how much can the West German market absorb?' says one senior dealer.
22 Some dealers say that Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita's reassurance that Japanese monetary policy won't be changed for the time being has given investors an added excuse to push the yen down even further against the mark.
23 Despite the yen's weakness with respect to the mark, Tokyo traders say they don't expect the Bank of Japan to take any action to support the Japanese currency on that front.
24 Meanwhile, sterling slumped on news that the United Kingdom posted a wider-than-expected trade deficit in September.
25 The news also knocked the British unit to below 2.95 marks in London, but a bout of short-covering helped sterling recoup some of its earlier losses.
26 On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold for current delivery jumped $3.20 to $370.20 an ounce.
27 The close was the highest since Aug. 15.
28 Estimated volume was a light two million ounces.
29 In early trading in Hong Kong Wednesday, gold was quoted at $368.25 an ounce.

But seesaw gyrations in the Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday put Wall Street back in the spotlight and inspired market participants to bid the U . S . unit lower .
seesaw gyrations
What is seesaw gyrations?