Weekly Market Summary

By Raymond Chatlani

On Monday, Asian markets closed mixed on thin trade as the UK and US markets would be closed. European stockmarkets fell in thin trade with fears of a Greek restructuring weighing on investors.

On Tuesday, Asian stockmarkets rose on news that industrial and manufacturing activity was showing signs of rebounding after a devastating earthquake in Japan in March. European stocks rose as the euro hit a three-week high versus the dollar on a report that Germany could make concessions on efforts to put together a bailout for Greece. The European Union raced to draft a fresh bailout package for indebted Greece to release vital loans next month and avert the risk of the euro zone country defaulting. US markets rallied attributed to news of Germany leading a second bailout for Greece.

On Wednesday, Asian stocks were little changed as traders awaited manufacturing data from China. China’s manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in May as the government extended a campaign to cool inflation and the property market. European markets fell on concerns of a slowdown in China's manufacturing growth which was further compounded by poor economic data out of the USA. US stockmarkets extended losses after a survey showed a sharp slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in May, adding to fears the economic recovery was faltering.

On Thursday, Asian stockmarkets fell heavily on poor US economic data on fears of slowing US growth. European markets fell on poor US economic data and worries about Greece. US stocks closed flat as as investors absorbed the latest economic data ahead of Friday's May jobs report.

On Friday, Asian stocks closed mixed before a key U.S. jobs report later in the day. European stockmarkets registered moderate gains while Greek stocks soared on positive comments from the Finance Ministry. US markets fell as employers hired only 54,000 new workers in May, the fewest in eight months, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent.

Last week Wall Street closed out a fifth week of losses with more selling on Friday after an anemic jobs report strengthened the case that the economy was slowing, though analysts said indexes may stabilize in the near-term. Earlier last week, we saw reports that US and Chinese manufacturing slowed in May. There is evidence that the U.S. economy is slowing, hampered by high gas prices and natural disasters in Japan that have hurt U.S. manufacturers. Also, the Chinese margin hikes in the banking system seems to be finally moderating economic growth which may bring down inflation in the second half of the year.

It looks like the the Chinese interest rate increases and increase of margins for their banking sector is working. In the US, economic growth is slowing and we shall probably see another stimulus package. With both unemployment and housing deteriorating in the USA, the economy cannot move forward unless the Feds continue to stimulate the economy.