Weekly Market Summary

by Raymond Chatlani

On Monday, Asian stocks rose as investors greeted news of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation with relief. After a firm start due to the resignation of Mubarak, European stockmarkets closed mixed. US markets were mixed as Obama revealed a $3.73 trillion budget.

On Tuesday, Asian stockmarkets closed mixed as China's inflation rate fell in January which cheered the market although traders remained wary about protesters destabilising other regions in the Middle East. European indices rose on good corporate results. US markets fell on surprisingly weak retail sales numbers.

On Wednesday, Asian stockmarkets were mostly higher although South Korea lost over one percent. European stock markets rose as investor sentiment was boosted by solid earnings news from US computer giant Dell and Dutch brewer Heineken. US stocks rose after estimate-beating results from technology bellwether Dell and a deal for Sanofi-Aventis to buy Genzyme for $20.1 billion in cash.

On Thursday, Asian stock markets rose, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and as the Federal Reserve expressed cautious optimism about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery. European markets opened flat but fell on US employment figures. US stocks fell after the government said first-time applications for unemployment benefits jumped more than expected last week.

This morning, Asian stockmarkets rose buoyed by gains on Wall Street though China and Indiia both fell. European shares fell on miners as China has raised bank reserve requirements by half a percentage point to a record level of 19.50%. US markets were flat at the time of writing.

This week global equities rose as the Egyptian problem was resolved as Mubarak resigned. Good corporate earnings and merger news also contributed to the rise. While commodities were volatile and remained almost the same, gold and silver appreciated as unrest in the Middle East spread this week to Bahrain and Libya.

While there are political risks in the Middle East and inflation fears in emerging markets, global equities are appreciating due to the high liquidity that has been pumped into the world's economic systems by Governments.