Friday marked the last trading session for July from the perspective of these summaries and a full month since the Brexit vote (which figured in the June summary). The UK continues to be a member of the EU and will be until at least January 2019 (assuming Article 50 is triggered in January 2017).
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down slightly on last week’s close by 0.09%, it closed at 6724.4, but made 2.2% on the month; the Dax ended at 10338, up by 1.9% on last week’s close and 5.8% in July; the CAC was up by 1.3% to end the session at 4439.8 and by 3.9% over the month.
The Dow ended the week down by 0.8% to close at 18422, but it made 2.6% over the month. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 1.2% over the course of the week at 5162.1, making 6.2% in July.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading down by 0.35% to end the session at 16569, making 5.7% on the month.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week the Yen enjoyed the best of the trading as the Bank of Japan left rates on hold. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling last week closing at $1.3275 to the Pound, a loss of 1.4% on the week and essentially unchanged in July. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week by 1.8% to close at $1.117 to the €. The Dollar was weaker against the Japanese currency, closing at 102.3 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 3.7% during the week and 0.23 on the month.
The Euro was weaker against the Yen ending at 114.3, a loss of 1.9% over the course of the week, but unchanged over the course of July. It made ground against Sterling last week, rising by 0.38%; the close saw one £ buying €1.1884, a gain of 0.31% in July.
The Euro now buys 1.0823 CHF, a loss of 0.23% on the week and 0.16% in July.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $42.49 per barrel, a fall of 7% over the course of the week’s trading and 15.6% in July. The value of gold was higher last week, closing at $1351.6 per ounce, a gain of 2.2% on the week and 0.57% in July.