Last week’s trading session marked the end of the week, the month, the quarter and the whole of 2013 from the perspective of these pieces – time to see how we did.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up by 2.2%, it closed at 6750.6, it made 3% on the month,4.6% in Q4 and rose by 10.9% over the year; the Dax ended at 9589.4 climbing by 2% over the course of the week, 4.6% on the month, 11.2% on the quarter and 23.3% over 2013; the CAC was up by 2% to end the session at 4277.7, it made 3.6% in December, 2.7% in Q4 and 14.7% over the course of the year.
The Dow ended the week higher, rising by 1.6% to end at 16478, making 2.9% on the month, 9.3% in Q4 and putting on 22.7% over the year. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 1.3% over the course of the week at 4156.6, it made 2.3% in December, 9.2% in Q4 and rose by 34% over the year.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading higher by 1.9% to end the session at 16179, it rose 5.8% in December, by15.4% in Q4 and by a very impressive 51% over the course of 2013.
Currency Markets Review
On the currency markets last week, Sterling saw the best of the trading. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling last week, closing at $1.6491 to the Pound; a slip of 0.84% over the week; 0.94% on the month; 2.7% over Q4; and 2.8 over the year. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week by 0.7% to close at $1.3768 to the €, slipping by 0.56% in December; by 1.4% in Q4; and by 5.5% over the year. The Dollar was stronger against the Japanese currency, closing at 105.1 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 0.93% during the week; it made 2.1% over the month; it ended Q4 worth 8.1% more and ended the year stronger by 19.2%.
The Euro rose against the Yen ending at 144.6, a gain of 1.6% over the course of the week, it rose by 2.7% in December; it ended Q4 worth 9.6% more; and ended the year up by 25.7% against the Japanese currency . It lost ground against Sterling last week falling by 0.14%; the close saw one £ buying €1.1978; it weakened by 0.38% in December; lost 1.3% during Q4, but gained 2.6% over the course of the year.
Commodities Market Review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended higher, at $112.2 per barrel (for February delivery); a rise of 0.37% over the course of the week’s trading; it was up by 0.51% on the month; by 2.5% on Q4, but only by 0.78% for the full year. The value of gold rallied last week, closing at $1214.5 per ounce, representing a gain of 1.6% over the previous week’s value, but it weakened by 1.5% in December; by 7.3% over Q4; and by 26.3% for the full year.