It was another good week for the world’s major stock exchanges last week with all of them closing higher by the end of the working week. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE made 2.1%, closing at 5996.1; the Dax put on 1.1% to close at 7057.69; the CAC gained 1.14% to end the session at 3911.32 .
The Dow ended the week higher to the tune of 0.71%, finishing the trading session at 11573. The Nasdaq ended the week higher, gaining 0.86% to close at 2665.6 .
The Nikkei closed up by 0.41% over the course of the week, ending trading at 10346 .
On the currency markets last week, the Yen had the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling by 0.95%, closing at 1.54178 to the Pound. The Greenback was also stronger against the Euro making 1.1%, to close at 1.3099. The Dollar weakened against the Japanese currency at 82.93 to the Yen, a fall of 1.2% on the week.
The Euro closed down against the Yen, just, ending at 108.63, shedding 2.4% over the course of the week. The Euro slipped against Sterling over the course of the week by 0.26%. The close saw one £ buying 1.1770€.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude was strongly higher, closing at $94.3 per barrel (for February delivery); a rise of 2.8% over the course of the week’s trading. The value of gold climbed, closing at 1385 per ounce; representing a gain of 1% over last week’s value.