By: Mike Campbell
Last week was another turbulent one for the major stock markets on the back of continuing uncertainty on sovereign debt and politicians tinkering with the markets and their rules. In Europe over the course of last week the FTSE fell 3.8%, closing at 5062.9; the Dax shed 3.8 % ending the week at 5829.3; the CAC dropped by 3.6% to end the session at 3430.7.
The Dow ended the week down by 4%, finishing the trading session at 10193.4. The Nasdaq ended the week shedding 5%; closing at 2229.
The Nikkei was also down, losing 6.5% over the course of the week, ending trading at 9784.5.
On the currency markets last week, the Yen was the winner. The Dollar was flat against the Euro, closing at 1.2497 to the Euro. The Greenback was stronger against the British Pound, rising by 1.5%, to close at 1.4359 to the Pound. The Dollar was lower against the Japanese currency at 89.69 to the Yen, a drop of 3% on the week.
The Euro fell by 3% against the Yen closing at 112.1. The Euro rose against Sterling over the week by 1.5%. The close saw one £ buying 1.14896€. In all the hype over the debt crisis, the fall of Sterling against all the other majors has been overlooked.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude dropped sharply, closing at $71.68 per barrel (for June delivery); a fall of 5.5% over the course of the week’s trading. This should mean that petrol prices will ease slightly. Surprisingly, the value of gold retreated to 1185$ per ounce, representing a decline of 3.4%, possibly this was profit taking on the back of 4 weeks of gains.