Friday marked the final trading session for August from the perspective of these summaries.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down by 0,12%, it closed at 6492.1 and ended the month 2.3% lower; the Dax ended at 8417 gaining 0.30% over the course of the week and strengthening by 0.12% over August; the CAC was down by 1.3% to end the session at 4069.5, but it climbed by 0.59% over the course of the month.
The Dow ended the week lower shedding 0.47% to end at 15010.2, it fell 4.1% over the month. The Nasdaq composite index ended at 3657.8, rising by 1.5% over the course of the week, but slipping by 0.86% over the course of August.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading essentially flat, just up by 0.08% to end the session at 13651, it lost 5.6% over the month.
Currency Markets Review
On the currency markets last week, the Euro saw the best of trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week, closing at $1.5574 to the Pound; a gain of 0.29% over the week, but still weakened by 2% in August. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week falling by 0.50% to close at $1.3390 to the € and by 0.91% over the month. The Dollar was stronger against the Japanese currency, closing at 98.60 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 1.0% during the week but slipping by 0.43% during the month.
The Euro strengthened against the Yen ending at 132.0, a gain of 1.5% over the course of the week and 0.48% on the month. It made ground against Sterling last week rising 0.79%; the close saw one £ buying €1.1631, representing a gain of 1.1% over the month.
Commodities Market Review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended higher, at $111 per barrel (for October delivery); a rise of 0.6% over the course of the week’s trading and 1.9% during August. The value of gold was higher last week, closing at $1377.5 per ounce, representing a gain of 0.6% over the previous week’s value and 5.2% on the month.