By: Dr. Mike Campbell
It was a good week for the world’s major stock exchanges last week with all of them closing higher. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE made 1.4%, closing at 5745.3; the Dax alsom made 1.4%, ending the week at 6947.7; the CAC recovered by 0.59% to end the session at 3750.6.
The Dow ended the week higher to the tune of 2.6%, finishing the trading session at 11382. The Nasdaq ended the week higher, gaining 2.2% to close at 2591.5.
The Nikkei closed up by 1.4% over the course of the week ending trading at 10178, despite news that exports were slowing.
On the currency markets last week, the Yen had the best of the trading as concerns over the Irish debt crisis and wider sovereign debt issues persisted for most of the week. The Dollar was higher against Sterling by 0.23% closing at 1.5620 to the Pound. The Greenback was down against the Euro by 0.16%, to close at 1.3246. The Dollar was weaker against the Japanese currency at 83.6932 to the Yen, a fall of 0.21% on the week.
The Euro closed down against the Yen ending at 110.86, dropping by just 0.05%. The Euro strengthened against Sterling over the course of the week by 0.39%. The close saw one £ buying 1.17925€. The Euro regained strength against the other majors towards the end of the week on news that ECB was committed to buying national bonds.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude was higher, closing at $91.4 per barrel (for January delivery); a rise of 6.8% over the course of the week’s trading and the highest price since the onset of the financial crisis. The value of gold rose, closing at 1385.2 per ounce; representing a gain of 0.77% over last week’s value.