Equities markets mixed at week’s end

In Asia and the Pacific, most equities markets were substantially lower on Friday. The Sensex was 0.86 percent lower to 14,063.81 in India, while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.26 percent to 6,258.4. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 1.4 percent to 20,509.15 and the Straits Times index in Singapore was down 1.47 percent to 3,506.29. Tokyo shares were down after US and European bond yields advanced overnight. The Nikkei 225 ended the session at 17,779.09, a decline of 1.5 percent, while the Topix index was 1.3 percent lower to 1,756.16.

In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.14 percent on the session to 1,566.82. While the IBEX added 0.62 percent to 14,816.5 in Madrid, the Paris CAC-40 fell 0.12 percent to 5,883.29 and the Dax was 0.37 percent lower to 7,590.5 in Frankfurt. In London, the FTSE 100 ended the session even at 6,505.1 but the FTSE 250 fell 0.37 percent to 11,583.6.

Wall Street was somewhat higher in midday trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.19 percent to 13,291.68, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5 percent higher to 2,554.13 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.26 percent to 1,494.57.

Crude oil prices fell by more than $2 per barrel on good weather news from the Middle East after Cyclone Gonu lost strength and on worries that higher interest rates could send demand lower. Metals prices were also significantly lower, with August gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange down nearly $15 by early afternoon.

The US dollar ended the week with gains against the euro, sterling, and some emerging markets currencies but saw losses to the yen as investors exited carry trades in an effort to find a safer place to put their money. The yen was generally stronger over the week.

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