Japanese shares posted a moderate increase

European shares rebound after previous weeks’ loses

European share markets traded mostly in the green zone during the last week and managed to rebound previous week’s losses. A sharp fall in the price of fuel and heating oil pulled down consumer prices in the Euro zone, as expected in February, but core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy component, edged higher. As a result, core CPI rose 0.7% in February on a yearly basis, while CPI slipped to –0.3%, in line with expectations. Meanwhile, the index of German investor and analyst expectations of economic developments, posted a fifth straight monthly increase, reaching 55.1 level in March. However, investor confidence rose less than expected in the preceding month, due to uncertainty over Greece’s future in the Euro zone.

The Eurostoxx 600 gauge, increased 0.9% to close at 404.01 points on Friday’s evening. Automobile & parts and consumer goods dropped the most by 3.3% and 1.5, respectively. The most positive development was demonstrated by energy sector, which soared 6.2%, while utilities followed with a climb of 3.2%. Kesko OYJ-B SHS, a Finnish retailing company, was the last week’s major mover, added 16.5% to trade at 39.75 euros. SBM Offshore NV, a Dutch-based leader in floating production and mooring systems, hiked 16% to 10.855 euros. Among biggest losers, Afren Plc, a British oil and gas company, continue its previous week’s tendency and plunged 25.7% to 3.50 pence, despite news of a restructuring of debt.

Meanwhile, the German DAX lost 1.05% to 12,089 points, while the British FTSE 100 Index gained 3.2% to close at the 7,022.51 mark, back on Friday.

US shares advanced despite light economic data

American equity market managed to rebound after negative tendency of the previous week. Concerning the fundamental news, US economic reports indicated a weather-related slowdown in housing activity and industrial production, though labor data remained strong. US industrial production rose 0.1% in February, after January figures were downgraded to a 0.3% decline from the 0.2% gain initially reported. Moreover, US homebuilder confidence fell to an eight-month low of 53 in March from 55 in February. Nevertheless, Initial claims for US unemployment benefits increased 1,000 to 291,000 for the week ended 14 March. The four-week moving average rose 2,250 to 304,750. Continuing claims, in turn, fell 11,000 to 2.42 million for the week ended 7 March.

The main S&P 500 Index increased 1.2% to 2,108.10 points. Almost all the industries rose in value during the previous trading week. The gains were led by utilities and consumer health care sectors, which added 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively. On the other hand, basic materials marginally decreased by 0.6% last week. Among the best performers, two American biotechnology companies, Biogen Idec Inc, which jumped 15.1% to trade at $475.98, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which was up 13.8% to trade at $488.87. Among biggest losers, Du Pont De Nemours, a chemical company based in US, dropped 7.6% to trade at $67.91, while the Airgas Inc, an American supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases, in turn, decreased 6.5% to $107.28.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8% during the previous trading week to 18,127.65 points, while high-tech index NASDAQ followed with a soar of 1.9% to reach the 5,026.41 mark.

Japanese shares posted a moderate increase

During the March 16-20 trading week, Japanese stocks posted a slight increase, since the Asian currency benefited from a broad weakness in the US Dollar. As for the major economic data, Japanese export rose more than expected in the preceding month, eliminating the effect of the previous year's recession. The total amount of overseas shipments advanced 2.4%, compared to the median estimate of a 0.3% increase. Imports dropped 3.6%, but there is still a 424.6 billion yen trade deficit.

The benchmark Topix Index increased 1.4% to close at 1,580.51 in the end of last week. The fastest-rising sectors of the benchmark included miscellaneous goods and electric appliances, which grew by 9.9% and 3.5%, respectively. On the other hand, Fishery & foster dropped the most by 2.3% and mining companies slipped 2.2%. Among largest market movers, Marusan Securities Co Ltd, a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the provision of securities investment and financial services showed a strong rise in shares, adding 51.2% to trade at 1,390 yen. Dena Co Ltd, a Japanese provider of mobile portal and e-commerce websites, followed with an increase of 48.7% to trade at 2,099 yen. The stocks soared, after the announcement that Dena Co Ltd entered into a business and capital alliance with Nintendo Co Ltd, in order to develop and operate new game apps for smart devices and build a new multi-device membership service for consumers worldwide. Meanwhile, the worst performance was showed by Emori Group Holdings Co Ltd. Shares of a Japanese chemical and machinery corporation, plunged 63% to 340 yen per stock.

Meanwhile, Nikkei 225, climbed as much as 1.6% to 19,560.22 points for the last Friday.

Asian shares rose on strong New Zealand’s economic data

Asian equity market managed to advance, after negative tendency of the previous week, following positive economic news. New Zealand's GDP grew 3.5% during the final three months of 2014, outperforming the median expectation of 3.4%. An unexpected acceleration took place due to a boost in tourist spending, as well as last week Bank of New Zealand's decision, to maintain interest rates unchanged. Governor Graeme Wheeler reckons that robust GDP growth will eventually translate into higher levels of inflation.

The most important S&P/ASX200 Index rose by 3.07% to 5,975.50 points. All industries included in the gauge showed a strong decline, while the best performing industries were financials and telecommunications, as they rose 3.7% and 3.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, Monadelphous Group Ltd, a leading Australian engineering group providing construction, advanced 24.8% to trade at $11.36 per share on Friday. Resolute Mining Ltd, an Australia-based gold company followed with a jump of 18% to $0.295, as company has moved to end uncertainty about the future of its most important asset, after turning its attention to underground operations at Syama, in the West African nation of Mali. On the other hand, the Sirtex Medical Ltd, a medical device company, diminished the most by 45% to $21.49, after announcing disappointing results for a clinical trial of its Sirflox radiation therapy.

Meanwhile, stock market in New Zealand lost 0.6% to 5,871.376 in five trading days, while Hang Seng, in turn, climbed 1.7% to close at 24,375.24 points on Friday.

EXPLANATIONS

Indexes

• Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) or (SPX) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 500 large-cap shares widely traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (INDU) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 30 large publicly owned U.S. companies , primarily industrials

• NASDAQ Composite Index - U.S. stock market index representing all the stocks that are traded on the Nasdaq stock market, mostly technology and Internet-related

• New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index (NZX 50) - stock market index consisting of the top 50 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock exchange

• S&P/ASX 200 - a market - capitalization weighted stock market index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange from Standard and Poor’s

• Hang Seng Index (HI) - Hong Kong’s stock market index consisting of 48 largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchange

• Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei 225 Index) or (NKY) - Japanese stock market index consisting of the 225 largest companies listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange

• FTSE 100 Index (UKX) - U.K. stock market index consisting of the 100 most capitalized U.K. companies trading on the London Stock Exchange

• DAX Index (DAX) - German stock market index consisting of the 30 largest and most liquid German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

• Eurostoxx 600 - stock market index, derived from the Stoxx Europe Total Market Index, consisting of 600 large, mid – and small-sized companies from 18 European countries

Chart

• Correlation - statistical measure of the linear relationship between two random variables. It is defined as the covariance divided by the standard deviation of two variables.

• Historical price changes - chart reflecting the historical price changes of particular region’s stock indices

Indicators

• Industry performance - weekly performance of industries within the particular stock market index

• Top performers - companies within a particular stock market index showing the best or worst weekly performance

• Performance - relative historical change of stock market index value