Most European markets decline on session

European equities markets were mixed on Friday in the last trading session of the week. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.1 percent to 1,549.87, and while the Dax added 0.1 percent to 7,861.51 in Frankfurt, the IBEX fell 0.03 percent to 14,576.5 in Madrid and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 0.31 percent to 5,715.69. Equities markets in London were lower in Friday trade. The FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent to 6,466.8 while the FTSE 250 was 0.02 percent lower to 11,037.4.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed but mostly higher to end the week. In Singapore, the Straits Times index dropped slightly to close at 3,706.23, while the Taiex index dropped 0.06 percent to 9,411.95 in Taiwan.

Among gainers in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.06 percent to 1,946.48, while the Hang Seng gained 0.29 percent to 27,142.47 to set yet another new closing high. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.45 percent to 6,567.8 and the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.5 percent to 6,580.9. India’s Sensex was up 0.82 percent to 17,291.1. The Shanghai Composite jumped 2.64 percent to 5,552.3 on a report in a state-run journal that China’s economy will grow by 11.6 percent for the full year, more than had been anticipated in earlier estimates.

Tokyo‘s markets were mixed. The Nikkei 225 was 0.28 percent lower to 16,785.69, while the Topix index closed at 1,616.62. The Mothers market was higher, ending the session at 732.72 for a gain of 1.7 percent.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower to 13,898.88 at just past 1 p.m. in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.22 percent to 2,703.63 and the S&P 500 was down 0.23 percent to 1,527.89.

Crude oil prices were higher in London and New York on both the day and the week, while precious metals prices were up in New York. Grains prices were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade, with wheat up but corn and soybeans lower.

The US dollar was 1.1 percent lower versus the euro over the week and has lost 5.8 percent in the third quarter. The dollar also dropped to a new low on the dollar index.

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