Most equities markets end week in gains

Most equities markets were higher in the Asia-Pacific region on Friday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.75 percent to 21,772.73, but otherwise the markets saw gains. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.21 percent to 6,310.6. The Straits Times index in Singapore gained 0.8 percent to 3,548.2, while in India the Sensex was 1.01 percent higher to 14,650. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.1 percent to 18,138.36, while the Topix index was up 1.4 percent to 1,774.88.

Europe’s equities markets saw gains to end the week. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.6 percent to 1.605.33. Among continental markets, the IBEX gained 0.49 percent to 14,892 in Madrid, while the Paris CAC-40 was 0.81 percent higher to 6,054.93 and in Frankfurt the Dax was up 1.09 percent to 8,007.32. In London, the FTSE 100 added 6,607.9, while the FTSE 250 was 0.07 percent higher to 11,527.6.

In early afternoon trade in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.09 percent higher to 13,434.88, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.08 percent to 2,610.41 and the S&P 500 was also up 0.08 percent to 1,506.94.

Crude oil prices were higher on the day and the week after gasoline stockpiles were reported to be significantly lower as worries continued that supply would not be able to meet summer driving demands in the US. Base metals prices also saw gains over the week.

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