The week in the UK ended on a high note that could have been higher. Despite gains and setbacks during the week the FTSE 100 managed an overall gain for the week, just short of 1%. The FTSE TechMARK closed just short of a 0.5% gain for the week.
Most of the week was spent watching the US sneeze and daily markets fluctuated with economic news from across the waters.
Surprisingly, the week in Europe did not mirror the US and UK markets. However, an exceptionally good week was seen in Frankfurt with the Xetra Dax achieving gains of around 3.5% for the week.
The week in the US was buoyant with the Nasdaq making gains for 5 days in a row. The Dow Jones almost made it but faltered on Wednesday after bad news from Hewlett Packard.
It was a strong week for technology and telecommunication stocks and there was a mixed bag of news on the economic data front.
The week in the Far Eastern markets was mixed but most of the news was good. The Nikkei in Tokyo managed a 9 month high after four straight days of gains. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong also did well. Investor confidence seemed to be revived following trading news from the US this week.
Good news from the Finance Minister in Tokyo who said that the decline in Japan has reached the bottom.