A weekly review of the markets, supplied and sponsored by Spreadex.
Weekly Market Review: 22 Feb 2010
Indices
The Dow ended the week 3% higher at 10,402 and the S&P 500 3.1% higher at 1109, the best performance for the two indices since late November.
Not even the announcement by the Fed on Friday that it was increasing the discount rate to 0.75% could stop the rally as traders took it as evidence the financial system is healing.
The FTSE 100 added 4.2% to 5358, its highest level in a month.
Commodities
A weak Dollar early in the week contributed to strength in commodities, with Brent crude having a particularly strong week. It closed the week up 7.6% at $78.45, a six week high.
Gold added 2.3% to $1117.5 with $1125 proving a resistance. Silver added around 5% to $16.29, continuing its rebound from its lows around $15.
Forex
Currencies continue to be hugely volatile, and even when the beleaguered Euro was starting to stage a fight back. Friday's surprise rate announcement by the Fed sent it to fresh new lows versus the Dollar at $1.3459. EUR/USD eventually closed a fraction lower at $1.3593.
Cable was also hit, falling 1.6% to $1.5453, its lowest level since May 2009.
GBP/EUR gave up some of its recent gains, falling 1.3% to €1.1369.
The Week Ahead
After a quiet start to the week, there are a number of economic announcements due at the end of the week, including UK 4th Quarter GDP on Friday.
On the company front, the banks are represented by RBS on Thursday and LloydsTSB on Friday.
The homebuilding sector sees Barratt Developments reporting on Wednesday and Redrow on Thursday.
The above comments do not constitute investment advice and neither Spreadex nor Clean Financial accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of them.
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Article provided / approved by Spreadex Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), FSA Register number 190941.
'Spread Betting Weekly' edited by DB, updated 22-Feb-10
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