Friday marked the final trading session for October and saw all of the major markets close higher on the strength of the ending of the Federal Reserve’s QE measures and fresh stimulus efforts from the Bank of Japan.

In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up by 2.5%, it closed at 6546.5, ending the month up by 0.28%; the Dax ended at 9326.9, up by 3.8% on last week’s close and 1.4% in October; the CAC was up by 2.5% to end the session at 4233.1, but it weakened by 1.1% over the course of the month.

The Dow ended the week up by 3.3% to close at 17351, putting on 2% over the month. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 3.3% over the course of the week at 4483.7, making 3.5% in October.

The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading up by 7.3% to end the session at 15292, it made 4.5% on the month.

Currency Markets Review

On the currency markets last week, the Dollar saw the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.599 to the Pound; a gain of 0.67% over the week, but it ended the month weaker by 0.18%. The Greenback strengthened against the Euro last week by 1.2% to close at $1.252 to the € which is essentially where it started the month. The Dollar was stronger against the Japanese currency, closing at 112.2 Yen to the Dollar, making a gain of 3.8% during the week and 2.3% over the month.

The Euro strengthened against the Yen ending at 140.4, a gain of 2.5% over the course of the week and 2.2% during October. It lost ground against Sterling last week, falling by 0.56%; the close saw one £ buying €1.2772, slipping by 0.14% during the month.

Commodities Market Review

On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended lower at $85.9 per barrel (for December delivery), a fall of 0.3% over the course of the week’s trading and 7% over the month. The value of gold was lower last week, closing at $1164.3 per ounce, a loss of 5.6%, falling 2.6% over the month.