Last Friday marked the final session for April from the perspective of these summaries. All of the major markets closed higher.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up by 1.1%, it closed at 7070.7, making 3.5% in April; the Dax ended at 11811, up by 1.1% on last week’s close, but slipping by 1.3% over the month; the CAC was up by 1.1% to end the session at 5201.5, making 2.5% over the course of the month.
The Dow ended the week up by 1.4% to close at 18080, making 1.8% on the month. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 3.3% over the course of the week at 5092.1, making 4.2% during April.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 1.9% to end the session at 20020, a rise of 3% on the month.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week Sterling enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling last week closing at $1.5178 to the Pound, a loss of 1.6% on the week and 1.8% over April. The Greenback fell against the Euro last week by 0.92% to close at $1.0876 to the €, but gained 1% in April. The Dollar was flat against the Japanese currency, closing at 119 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.05% during the week and ending the month where it started with a marginal gain of 0.01%.
The Euro strengthened against the Yen ending at 129.4, a gain of 0.87% over the course of the week, but it lost 1% over the month. It lost ground against Sterling last week, falling by 0.67%; the close saw one £ buying €1.3955, a fall of 2.8% in April.
The Euro now buys 1.0366 CHF, a gain of 0.9% on the week, but a fall of 0.8% on the month
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $65.3 per barrel, a rise of 2.9% over the course of the week’s trading and a recovery of 18.8% on the month. The value of gold was lower last week, closing at $1176.8 per ounce, a fall of 2.2% on the week and 1.8% during April.