European shares were mixed during previous trading week

European shares were mixed during previous trading week

European shares closed the observed period on a mixed note, being affected by rebounding oil prices as well as mostly positive economic data. Moreover, the rejection by Dutch voters the Ukraine trade deal agreement with EU which show signs of strain between the EU and its member state brought negative impact on the European stocks, as well as taking into account the approaching Brexit referendum in June.

The Stoxx 600 Index was 0.79% down on week to finish Friday’s trading session at 349 points. Only two out of the 19 sub-indices on the gauge posted gains, while automobiles & parts shares were the last week’s worst performers. Among individual movers, Ocado Group Plc, an online grocer company, advanced 16.06% to trade at 227 euro per share, appearing to be previous week’s best performing blue chip company. On the downside, Numericable SFR, a cable operator and telecommunications services company lost nearly 19.09% on week, to trade at 29.50 mark.

The DAX Index finished the week at 9,650.50 on Friday, 2.03% lower, while the British FTSE 100 plummeted nearly 0.64% to end at 6,204.41 points.

 

US stock indices close mostly lower compared to the previous week

American stock market posted some gains at the beginning of the week since Brent surged more than 5%, due to the hope for an agreement being reached in Doha when oil exporting countries meet to discuss an oil production freeze this week. Nevertheless, wholesale inventory numbers fell to the lowest level in three years, as wholesalers stored 0.5% less in February, pushing equity markets highly lower.

The S&P’s 500 Index lost 0.9% to trade at 2,047.60 while Nasdaq, in turn, went down 0.84% to 4,850.68 mark. Energy, due to rise in oil prices inched up by 2.7% on week, posting the only weekly gain, whereas telecommunications slid 2.9%, followed by a 2.4% drop in financial shares. Among individual performers, Edwards Lifesciences Corp, an American medical equipment company, climbed 16%, closing last week at $104.47, following the release of favourable results for its Sapien family of valves, in the company’s PARTNER II clinical trial. Meanwhile, GAP Inc/THE, worldwide clothing and accessories retailer, sank 19% closing the previous trading week at $23.85. The company’s shares were affected by that net sales for the five-week period ending April 2 which were $1.43 billion, compared with net sales of $1.53 billion for the previous year. Following results could be explained that Gap has been struggling to bring out apparel that appeals to shoppers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended last week also with 0.9% decrease to trade at 17,576.96.

 

Japanese shares closed purely red

The Japanese equities traded in a purely negative environment during the April 4-8 week, with a sudden surge in Japan's yen which weighted highly on markets and is often a sign of risk aversion by investors. Despite the introduction of negative interest rates by the Bank of Japan at the end of January, the Japanese yen has risen roughly 10% versus the dollar so far this year, including a 3% gain during the previous week. Finance minister Taro Aso warned that the government would take steps to counter one-sided moves in currency markets.

The Nikkei 225 benchmark index slumped 1.8% to hover around 15,821.52 points at the end of the trading week ended on April 8. Moreover, all sectors of the gauge posted a decline, with banking and insurance industries leading the drop by 6.1% and 5.9%, respectively. Among best performers, Asahi Co Ltd, a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the sale of bicycles surged 18.8% to 585 yen. On the other hand, Fast Retailing Co Ltd, plummeted 21.9% to trade at 26,610 yen, reaching the lowest point in five years. Such an impressive decline took place after the company cut its profit forecast by a third on a stronger yen and weak demand for the casual clothing maker’s down coats and thermal underwear.

Meanwhile, Topix shares decreased only 1.15% to trade at 1,287.69 points.

 

Asia Pacific Shares experienced decrease in value

Asian stock markets finished the week on a positive note, cheering a sharp rise in oil prices. Meanwhile, in March, foreign exchange reserves edged up in China for the first time in five months, showing a sign of stability after months of heavy outflows.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index decreased 1.16% on week to finish at 4,937.60 points. Three versus seven of industry sectors in the gauge inched higher, with the energy stocks jumping as much as 2.15% on week, while basic materials followed with 1.01% gain. In the meantime, consumer staples and consumer discretionary were sold off last week amid concerns the shares were overvalued. The Evolution mining Ltd., an Australian gold producer, was the last week’s best performing blue chip company with a 8.5% gain trading at $1.66 mark per share. Another company, Australia's largest medical device company– Sirtex Medical Ltd, also soared 8.5% to $31.26. On the other hand, Nine Entertainment Co Holding diminished 26.33% to trade at $1.105 per share.

The Hang Seng added 1.5% on week to end at 20,370.40 points while NZX 50 Index finished last week at 6,730.28 points losing 0.2 %.

 

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

•  Downlaod Full Global Stock Market Review