Markets mixed at end of volatile week

At the end of a volatile week, global equities markets were mixed as some seemed to have begun recovering, while others remained in decline.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index, which initiated the week’s declines, added 1.3 percent on the session to 2,833.45. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.49 percent higher to 19,442.01. On the other hand, the STI in Singapore dropped 0.19 percent to 3,076.59. Tokyo markets were down as well, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 1.4 percent to 17,217.93 and the Topix falling 1.1 percent to close at 1,721.59. The electronics and automobile manufacturing sectors were 2.1 percent and 1.7 percent lower respectively as the US dollar weakened versus the yen.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 5.1 percent over the week to close at 1,463.3 on Friday. Banks were hard-hit, as were the Spanish real estate and building sectors. Carmakers were also lower on the week. Elsewhere in Europe, the CAC 40 was 0.62 percent lower on the session to 5,424.70 in Paris, while in Frankfurt the Xetra Dax fell .56 percent to 6,603.32.

London equities markets saw gains on the day. The FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,116.2. Still, it ended 5 percent lower for the week. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, added 0.57 percent on the session to close at 11,046.10. Scottish & Southern Energy was up 3.4 percent on bids rumors, while Tesco (LSE: TSCO) gained 2.1 percent on stake building.

Wall Street was lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.54 percent lower in early afternoon trade to 12,167.93, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.02 percent to 2,379.71 and the S&P 500 was down 0.73 percent to 1,392.91. The Dow looked to be on the way to its worst week since April 2005. It didn’t help that the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve said that the likelihood that the US economy is headed for recession is higher than it was a couple of years ago.

Oil prices were mixed. While Brent crude April contracts were 4 cents higher to $62.15 in London trade, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 10 cents to $61.90 per barrel late in the morning in trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex gasoline was up about 1 cent Friday morning, while heating oil futures held steady. In other commodities, gold had droped $20.10 in New York by midday to trade at $645 per troy ounce, sending its loss on the week to over $40 per troy ounce. Other metals prices followed gold lower.

The Japanese yen strengthened significantly during the week as investors fled from risk and closed out risky carry trades. The Swiss franc also benefited from the week’s volatility. The US dollar was even versus the euro, while it strengthened in relation to sterling but lost 3.3 percent to the yen.

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