Last week was the usual twilight affair for the major world’s markets as many were still partly on holiday and trading volumes were low.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up on last week’s close by 0.94%, it closed at 7210.1 making 14% over the year and 1.4% in Q4; the Dax ended at 11599, up by 1% on last week’s close making 6.9% on the year and 9.4% in Q4; the CAC was up by 0.98% to end the session at 4909.8, gaining 4.9% over the year and 9.3% on Q4.
The Dow ended the week up by 1% to close at 19964, it rose by 13% over the year and made 8.4% in Q4. The Nasdaq composite index was up by 2.6% over the course of the week at 5521.1, it made 7.5% over 2016 and 1.7% in the final quarter.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 1.8% to end the session at 19454, it rose by just 0.42% over the year but by 13% in Q4.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week the Euro marginally enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.231 to the Pound, a gain of 0.23% on the week, it rose by 16.3% in 2016. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week, just, by 0.02% to close at $1.0557 to the Euro, but it rose by 2.8% over the course of the year. The Dollar was stronger against the Japanese currency, closing at 116.9 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 0.09% during the week, but it lost 3.2% over the year.
The Euro was stronger against the Yen ending at 123.4, a gain of 0.11% over the course of the week, but it slipped by 5.9% over the year. It made ground against Sterling last week, rising by 0.25%; the close saw one £ buying €1.1660, it rose by 13.9% against Sterling in 2016.
The Euro now buys 1.0719 CHF, a loss of 0.02% on the week and a fall of 1.4% across 2016.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $57.1 per barrel, a gain of 0.49% over the course of the week’s trading and a whopping 52% over 2016. The value of gold rose last week closing at $1172 per ounce, a gain of 1.8% on the week, and a gain of 8.7% across the year.