By: Dr. Mike Campbell
Last week saw the world’s major stock exchanges again all close lower for the fourth week in a row, with no exceptions this time. In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE fell by 0.16%, closing at 5938.9 and losing 0.63 over the month; the Dax shed a further 1.4% to close at 7163.5, dropping by 4.4% over the course of the month; the CAC weakened by 1% to end the session at 3951, losing 2.6% in May.
The Dow ended the week down by 0.56% finishing the trading session at 12441.6; a slip of 1.6% over the month. The Nasdaq ended the week down by 0.23% to close at 2796.9 a fall of 1.1% over the month.
The Nikkei declined over the course of the week, dipping by 0.89% to end the trading session at 9521.9; a loss of 3.4% over the course of the month.
Currency Markets Review
On the currency markets last week, Sterling had the best of the trading. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling, dropping 1.4% and closing at 1.6456 to the Pound, it lost 0.3% over the month. The Greenback also lost ground against the Euro last week, drifting down by 0.2% to close at 1.4265; however it gained 1.6% over the month. The Dollar also lost ground against the Japanese currency, closing at 81.1076 to the Yen, a loss of 0.69% on the week, but it ended the month up by 0.96%
The Euro closed down against the Yen ending at 115.7, losing 0.49% over the course of the week and ending the month down by 0.69%. The Euro also lost ground against Sterling over the course of the week by 1.2%; the close saw one £ buying 1.1536; over the course of the month it fell by 2%.
Commodities Market Review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended higher, closing at $115.03 per barrel (for July delivery); a hike of 2.6% over the course of the week’s trading and a rise of 5.4% over the month. The value of gold rose last week, closing at $1533 per ounce and representing a gain of 2.8% over last week’s value and 3.1% over the month.