Last week saw the final trading session for the week, the month and the quarter from the perspective of these summaries.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down by 2.4%, it closed at 6855, slipping by 0.82% on the month, but making 4.7% in Q1; the Dax ended at 12039, down by 1.4% on last week’s close, but ending the month 2.8% higher and by a whopping 25% over Q1; the CAC was down by 1.1% to end the session at 5034, it made 1.4% in March and 18.4% in the first quarter.
The Dow ended the week down by 2.3% to close at 17713, ending the month down by 0.81% and Q1 essentially flat, down by 0.67%. The Nasdaq composite index ended down by 2.7% over the course of the week at 4891.2, slipping 0.73% in March, but ending Q1 up by 3.5%.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading down by 1.4% to end the session at 19286, but it made 1.7% on the month and 10.5% over Q1.
Currency markets review
[CAD:FXAcademy CTA #121]On the currency markets last week the Yen enjoyed the best of the trading, for a change. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.4854 to the Pound, a gain of 0.38%, it made 1.4% in March and 3.3% over the quarter. The Greenback slipped against the Euro last week by 0.91% to close at $1.0886 to the €, it lost 0.26% in March but appreciated by 9.4% in Q1. The Dollar was weaker against the Japanese currency, closing at 119.3 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.79% during the week, 1.4% in March and 0.73% over the first quarter.
The Euro slipped back marginally against the Yen ending at 129.7, a loss of 0.03% over the course of the week, it fell by 1.2% in March and 10.2% over the course of Q1. It made ground against Sterling last week, rising by 1.1%; the close saw one £ buying €1.3667, but fell by 1.5% in March and by 6.9% in Q1.
The Euro now buys 1.0446 CHF, a loss of 0.9% on the week and 2.2% in March, since coming off its peg in January, the CHF has gained 13% in value against the Euro.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $56.4 per barrel, a rise of 2% over the course of the week’s trading, it was down by 5.6% in March and by 1.5% over the quarter. The value of gold was higher last week, closing at $1203 per ounce, a gain of 3.2% on the week, it made 2.3% in March and 2.7% over Q1.