By: Mike Campbell
In general, last week was a good one for the world’s major stock markets with all indices gaining ground over the course of the week, except for the Nikkei. In Europe, the FTSE put on almost 2% of its value, closing at 5142.7; the CAC was up by 2.76%, closing at 3707.3; the Dax closed up by 1.35% at 5488.3.
In the USA, the Dow closed the week higher by a healthy 3.2%, finishing the trading session at 10023.4. The Nasdaq also made similar gains over the course of the week, closing up by 3.29% at 2112.4
The Nikkei lost 2.44% of its value to close at 9789.4.
On the currency markets last week, the Dollar was down against all major currencies. Against the Euro it fell by 0.42% over the week, closing at 1.4862. The Greenback was weaker against the British Pound to the tune of 0.17%, closing at 1.6587. The Dollar lost ground against the Japanese Yen, losing 0.34% to close at 90.6742 to the Dollar.
The Euro was flat against the Yen last week closing at 134.76, gaining 0.07% of its value against the Japanese currency. The Euro was marginally higher against Sterling gaining 0.25%. The close saw one £ buying 1.1160€.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude oil was marginally stronger against last week’s mark. Brent crude rose by 0.89% over the course of the week, closing at 75.87$ per barrel (for December delivery). The value of gold appreciated strongly closing just under 1090 $ per ounce equating to a hike of 4.3% over the previous week’s closing price. Remember that gold always appreciates in times of economic uncertainty!