Last week was another positive affair for the world’s major markets with all making ground except for the FTSE again. It marked the final trading session for October for the purposes of these summaries.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was down on last week’s close by 0.24% at 7505, it ended the month down by 0.24%; the Dax ended at 13218, 1.8% up on last week’s close and made 2% over the month; the CAC was up by 2.3% to end the session at 5494.1, rising by 2.5% in October.
The Dow ended the week up 0.45% to close at 23434, making 2.9% over the course of the month. The Nasdaq composite index was up by 1.1% over the course of the week at 6701.3, ending the month up by 1.7%
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 2.6% to end the session at 22008, it rose by 6.4% over the month.
Currency markets review
On the currency markets last week, the Dollar again enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.3110 to the Pound, a gain of 0.52% on the week, but Sterling strengthened by 0.34% over the month. The Greenback strengthened against the Euro last week by 1.6% to close at $1.1581 to the Euro, making 1.3% in October. The Dollar strengthened against the Japanese currency closing at 113.8 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 0.27% during the week and 0.99% over the month.
The Euro was weaker against the Yen ending at 131.8, a loss of 1.3% over the course of the week and 0,3% in October. It lost ground against Sterling last week, falling by 1.1%, the close saw one £ buying €1.1320, a loss of 1.7% on the month.
The Euro now buys 1.1570 CHF, a loss of 0.15% on the week, but it strengthened by 0.87% in October.
Commodities market review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $60.44 per barrel, a rise of 4.71% over the course of the week’s trading and 8.7% on the month. The value of gold fell last week closing at $1267.7 per ounce, a fall of 0.79% on the week and 0.32% over the month.