30 April Market Review

For the final week of trading in April, the world markets hit a little bit of a rough patch.  Oil however continued to rise.

The FTSE closed at 6241.9 for the week, to be down 1.09% but was up 1.6% for the month.  The Dax ended the week down 3.2% with a close of 10039, but was up 2.5% for the month of April.  The CAC closed the week at 4429 to be down 3.1%, but was up 2.5% for the month not withstanding.

The Dow closed at 17774 for the week, giving it a loss of 1.3% for the week and down slightly at 0.11% for April.  The Nasdaq Composite Index closed the week at 4775.4 to be down 2.7% for the week as well as down 2.8% for the month of April.

The Nikkei 225 closed the week at 16666 to be down big for the week at 4.9%, but still managed to be up 3.1% for the month.

In the currency markets for the final week of April, the Yen had the best week among the major currencies.  The Dollar lost against the Sterling last week to the amount of 1.7% and was also down 3% for the month, with a close of $1.4630.  The Dollar also fell versus the Euro last week by closing at $1.1446, for a loss of 1.8% on the week and 0.58% for the month.  The Dollar also couldn’t gain ground against the Yen and lost 4.1% for the week and 4.6% for the month, by closing at 106.9.

The Euro fell versus the Yen with a loss of 2.4% for the week ant 4.1% for the month, to close at 122.4.  The Euro did gain slightly against the Sterling over the week by 0.14%, but couldn’t recover enough to stay positive for the month with a loss of 2.4% for April, with a close of 1.2782.  The Euro lost 0.05% for the week against the CHF but gained 0.62% for the month, by closing at 1.0981.

Brent crude rose a solid 5% for the week with a hefty gain of 22.5% for the month of April, with a close on the week of $47.37 per barrel.  The value of Gold rose 5% for the week and 5.8% for the month, with a closing of $1293.7 per ounce.