Weekly Market Summary

By Raymond Chatlani


On Monday, Asian stockmarkets mostly rose following last week's good corporate results though China fell on inflation fears. European markets were closed. US markets faltered on discouraging corporate earnings forecasts. Gold and silver retreated after hitting new 2011 highs of $1508.70 and $47.15 an ounce respectively.

On Tuesday, Asian stocks and commodities pulled back from recent three-year highs in a bout of profit-taking before the Federal Reserve meeting this week where investors are seeking clues on when it plans to begin existing its ultra-easy monetary policy. European markets rose buoyed by strong results from Swiss banking giant UBS after profits for the first quarter came in ahead of expectations, helped by big inflows from wealthy customers. US stockmarkets rose on strong results from Ford and 3M as Ford reported its best first quarter earnings since 1998 and 3M said quarterly profit jumped 16 percent from a year ago, beating analysts' estimates.

On Wednesday, Asian stockmarkets closed mixed with Australia, Hong Kong, China and India falling and the rest of the region gaining. European equities rose on good company results as investors digested results from energy giant BP, Barclays bank and telecom equipment giant Ericsson, alongside positive British data. US markets rose after U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke gave no signs that the central bank was about to tighten monetary policy. Gold rose to an all-time high over $1,530 an ounce with silver at over $48 an ounce and oil also went up after the Federal Reserve vowed to keep U.S. interest rates low for an extended period, which sent the dollar tumbling.

On Thursday, Asian stocks rose after the U.S. central bank signalled it was in no rush to scale back support for the economy, keeping intact demand for riskier assets. European stockmarkets rose as investors welcomed the US Federal Reserve's commitment to keep interest rates low, and digested upbeat German unemployment data and company results. US equities rose modestly as the economy grew from January through March at an annualized rate of 1.8%, which is greater than the 1.7% increase that had been broadly expected although initial claims for the week ended April 23 totaled 429,000, which is greater than the 390,000 initial claims that had been expected, on average, among economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Gold hit a new high of $1,538 an ounce before retreating with silver temporarily hitting a new all time high at over $49 an ounce.

On Friday, Asian stockmarkets fell as a slowdown in growth in the U.S. and mixed corporate earnings dampened stock market sentiment. European markets rose supported by positive company earnings. US indices rose on strong quarterly results from Caterpillar and Merck. Gold hit a new high again of over $1,560 an ounce.

Last week's major event was confirmation by the US Federal Reserve Bank that low interest rates are here to stay for a prolonged period. This has led investors to come out of cash and bonds and to push global stockmarkets and commodities higher due to inflation expectations.


The Federal Reserve Bank is sticking to its policy, and, as a result, we have to expect the continued devaluation of the dollar and the appreciation of commodities to remain intact. In fact, both gold and silver hit new highs last week.

Kind regards,

Raymond Chatlani

Investment Analyst

Hollingsworth International Financial Services Ltd

Office 22

Regent House

Bisazza Street

Sliema SLM1641

Malta



Tel : +356 21316298

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www.hollingsworth.eu.com


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