Wall Street slightly easier

The Japan News.Net
Friday 20th November, 2009

U.S. stocks softened again on Friday as earnings reports fell short of expectations.

Dell and homebuilder D.R. Horton filed their results for the quarter on Friday, and both brought disappointing responses.

Declines in both stocks hit the broader market, but the downward movement was limited.

In late afternoon trading Friday the Dow Jones Industrials were down 14.28 points or 0.14% at 10,318.16.

The Nasdaq Composite was hit harder. The tech-laden index was down 10.78 points or 0.50% at 2,146.04.

The Standard and Poor's 500 was off 3.53 points or 0.32% at 1,091.37.

The U.S. dollar was sharply higher on foreign exchange markets. Around the New York Friday the euro slumped to 1.4861. The British pound tumbled to 1.6508.

The Australian dollar dropped more than a cent to .9151, while the Canadian dollar was significantly weaker at 1.0698.

The Swiss franc fell to 1.0172. Only the Japanese yen retained some composure. It edged up slightly to 88.99.

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