Last week was the final trading period for January from the perspective of these summaries. Markets were again mixed.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down on last week’s close by 0.19% at 7184.5 and fell by 0.36% in January; the Dax ended at 11814, up by 1.6% on last week’s close and 1.9% on the month; the CAC was down by 0.22% to end the session at 4840, falling 1.4% over the month.
The Dow ended the week down by 1.4% to close at 20094, a new record, and made 0.65% in January. The Nasdaq composite index was up by 1.9% over the course of the week at 5660.8, rising 2.5% on the month.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 1.7% to end the session at 19467,essentially back where it started at the beginning of the month.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week Sterling again enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling last week closing at $1.2531 to the Pound, a loss of 1.6% on the week and 1.8% on the month. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week by 0.1% to close at $1.0692 to the Euro, it slipped by 1.3% in January. The Dollar was stronger against the Japanese currency, just, closing at 115.1 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 0.09% during the week, but slipping by 1.5% over the month.
The Euro was stronger against the Yen ending at 123.1, a gain of 0.19% over the course of the week, but it slipped by 0.24% in January. It lost ground against Sterling last week, falling by 1.5%; the close saw one £ buying €1.172, it slipped by 0.5% in January.
The Euro now buys 1.0683 CHF, a loss of 0.47% on the week and 0.34% on the month.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $55.52 per barrel, a rise of 0.05% over the course of the week’s trading, but it weakened by 2.8% in January. The value of gold fell last week closing at $1191 per ounce, a fall of 1.6% on the week, but a rise of 1.6% in January.