Last Friday was the final trading session for May from the perspective of these summaries. It saw all of the major markets making ground over the previous week’s closing values.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up by 1. 9%, it closed at 6270.8, making 2.4% in May; the Dax ended at 10286, up by 3.7% on last week’s close and strengthening by 4.2% over the month; the CAC was up by 3.7% to end the session at 4514.7, making 5% in May.
The Dow ended the week up by 2.1% to close at 17873 and ended the month up by 0.74%. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 3.4% over the course of the week at 4933.5 and 4.2% in May.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 0.59% to end the session at 16835, making 4.5% over the course of 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 $1.4641 to the Pound, a fall of 0.88% on the week, but it was essentially unchanged over the month. The Greenback strengthened against the Euro last week by 0.63% to close at $1.1138 to the €, a gain of 2.7% in May. The Dollar was weaker against the Japanese currency, closing at 109.9 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.62% during the week, but strengthening by 2.8% over the month.
The Euro was weaker against the Yen ending at 122.4, a loss of 1.2% over the course of the week, ending the month where it started it. It lost ground against Sterling last week, falling by 1.5%; the close saw one £ buying €1.3145, slipping by 2.8% in May.
The Euro now buys 1.1047 CHF, a loss of 0.63% on the week, but strengthening by 0.6% over the month.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $49.32 per barrel, a rise of 1.2% over the course of the week’s trading and a consolidation of 8.7% in May. The value of gold was lower last week, closing at $1212.4 per ounce, a loss of 3.4% on the week and 6% on the month.