FOCUS - Eurobourses end mixed but London recovers .
Leonard Santorelli
LONDON 1996-08-27
European bourses closed mixed on Tuesday with London clawing back most of the day 's losses despite an unsteady start on wall Street , hit by inflation worries .
The dollar weakened during the day with many dealers sidelined because of uncertainty over Tokyo 's monetary direction ahead of the important Japanese Tankan economic survey out on Wednesday .
But it recovered at the close of trade .
Stocks in London started the week badly after a three-day weekend , slipping 0.3 percent , but bargain-hunters later moved in and the FTSE index recovered most of the lost ground to end only just in negative ground .
Tuesday 's patchy showing in London followed a string of records last week , culminating in Friday 's trading high of 3,911 , fuelled by a wave of European interest rate cuts .
The London bourse drew little help from the unsettled morning on Wall Street , which slipped in and out of positive ground after a stronger-than-expected August consumer confidence report refuelled inflation fears , pulling U.S. Treasuries back from their early peaks .
Shortly after the report appeared showing the confidence index rising to 109.4 in August from a revised 107.0 in July , Wall Street relinquished virtually all its morning gains .
" Treasuries remain very sensitive to any indication of a strong economy and we 're still in that summer doldrum period of light trading , " said Alan Ackerman , market strategist at Fahnestock & Co . "
Consequently , stocks and bonds are both subject to rapid swings . "
Frankfurt was the one bright spot in Europe .
Floor trading ended up 0.25 percent and the computerised IBIS index climbed nearly 0.4 percent , given a push by the performance of chemical shares . "
The market is trading 100 percent on fundamentals at the moment as interest rate fantasy disappears -- it 's all company news , " said one trader .
French shares ended slightly down amid growing unease about a difficult autumn for the government which also weighed on the franc , dealers said .
Bond prices were weaker and the franc was quoted at 3.4210 per mark for the first time since August 13 as worries about the government 's autumn budget and a weak U.S. currency lifted the mark and squeezed French investments .
The dollar , which dropped sharply on Monday because of jitters over the Japanese Tankan survey , weakened further in quiet trading but regained losses to end the day close to Monday 's levels .
" Besides the Tankan , there 's nothing really until the U.S. jobs numbers next week , " said a UK bank corporate dealer . "
There is still the summer malaise hanging over the market . "
Foreign exchange markets regard the Tankan report as an important indication of the country 's future monetary policy direction .
If it points to weakness in the economy , the report will help the dollar regain some lost ground as speculation of a near-term rise in Japanese interest rates will evaporate .
The Japanese discount rate is currently at a record low of 0.5 percent .
The dollar was also pressured by the mark 's strength against European currencies amid renewed concerns over Europe 's economic and monetary union ( EMU ) timetable .
CURRENCIES
The dollar was at 1.4788 marks and 107.74 yen at the close of European trading compared with 1.4789 marks and 107.55 yen on Monday .
STOCK MARKETS
The Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100 leading British shares ended 1.8 points lower at 3,905.7 .
In Paris , the CAC-40 share index finished down 2.43 at 2,017.99 .
The 30-share DAX index in Frankfurt closed up 6.48 at 2,558.84 .
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold closed at $ 388.55 an ounce , compared with Monday 's close of $ 388.75 on international markets .
Silver ended up one cent $ 5.24 .