Last week was the final trading session for May from the perspective of these summaries. It was a largely positive affair for the world’s major markets with only the Dax losing ground.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up on last week’s close by 1% at 7547.6, it made 3.4% in May; the Dax ended at 12602, down by 0.29% on last week’s close and by 0.9% over the month; the CAC was up by 0.23% to end the session at 5336.6, but it lost 1.8% in May.
The Dow ended the week up by 1.3% to close at 21080, it made 0.35% over the month. The Nasdaq composite index was up by 2.1% over the course of the week at 6210.2 and it ended May 1.8% stronger.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 0.49% to end the session at 19687, gaining 1.2% in May.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week the Yen enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.2793 to the Pound, a gain of 1.7% on the week and 1.2% on the month. The Greenback strengthened against the Euro last week by 0.18% to close at $1.117 to the Euro, it fell by 1.6% in May. The Dollar weakened against the Japanese currency closing at 111.3 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.16% during the week and 1.2% over the month
The Euro was weaker against the Yen ending at 124.3, a fall of 0.34% over the course of the week, but a gain of 0.39% on the month. It made ground against Sterling last week, rising by 1.5%; the close saw one £ buying €1.1453, it gained 2.7% in May.
The Euro now buys 1.0894 CHF, a fall of 0.2% on the week, but it strengthened by 0.32% over the month.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $52.15 per barrel, a fall of 2.7% over the course of the week’s trading, but a rise of 6.2% over the month. The value of gold rose last week closing at $1266.7 per ounce, a gain of 1.2% on the week and 3.2% in May.