Wall Street shares rebounded after a recovery in the dollar's slide and a surge in new home building. By mid-morning, the Dow Jones was up 32.08 points to 9,656.24 and the Nasdaq rose 8.54 points to 1,890.29. This morning saw the US dollar plunge to an all-time low against the euro and fall sharply against the yen. By the opening bell the currency had recovered thanks, in part, to reports of Japanese Government intervention.
A surge in housing starts and new building permits further buoyed investor sentiment. The pace of housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.96 million units in October, after rising a revised 1.91 million units in September. In corporate news, shares in GE jumped 2.2pc after it said it plans to spin off its life insurance operations next year. The initial public offering would sell 30pc of the newly formed Genworth Financial, with GE further cutting its stake over the next three years. Diversified photographic equipment maker Eastman Kodak edged up 0.5pc after it said it would substantially increase investment in its healthcare medical technology unit. //www.fxcentre.com