By: Dr. Mike Campbell
All of the world’s major stock markets closed higher, compared to how they stood last week. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE gained 3%, closing at 5312.6; the Dax rose by 2.1% ending the week at 6166.3; the CAC climbed by 3.1% to end the session at 3607.1.
The Dow ended the week up by 3.2%, finishing the trading session at 10424.6. The Nasdaq ended the week stronger by 4.2 %; closing at 2269.5.
The Nikkei closed up by 0.2% over the course of the week, by far the worst performance of the major markets, ending trading at 9431.
On the currency markets last week, there was little fluctuation with all the major currencies remaining within ±1% of the previous week’s value. The Dollar was lower against Sterling by 0.17% closing at 1.5405 to the Pound. The Greenback was stronger against the Euro by 0.79%, to close at 1.2897. The Dollar was also stronger against the Japanese currency at 87.2141 to the Yen, a hike of 0.74% on the week.
The Euro was effectively unchanged against the Yen closing at 112.48, losing 0.05%. The Euro weakened against Sterling over the course of the week by 0.97%. The close saw one £ buying 1.1945€.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude was up, closing at $77.5 per barrel (for September delivery); a hike of 2.8% over the course of the week’s trading. The value of gold weakened marginally to 1195.9 per ounce, representing a fall of 1.1% over last week’s value.