Financial Week in Review (11/11-11/18) and a Look Ahead

Friday ended another turbulent week in the markets. Looking back at the week, here is a breakdown of the numbers.

At the close of trading on Tuesday, November 15th, U.S. indexes were up very slightly, with the Dow up 17 points and closing at 12,096.20, the S&P up 6 points to close at 1,257.81, and the Nasdaq up 1.09%, or 29 points, to 2,686.20. Toronto’s TSX was just on the up side of breaking even, closing at 12,229.30.

European markets were down almost across the board, with London’s FTSE losing the most at -1.14%, and Germany’s DAX right behind them at just under 1%. The exception was Spain’s IBEX 35, which was up 31.20 points, or 0.38%, closing at 8,268.80.
Asian markets suffered the worst on Tuesday, with the Nikkei down -0.92% to 8,463.16, and the Shanghai Composite right behind it at a loss of -0.89%, closing at 4,247.40. The biggest losses were in the Hang Seng index, which lost -2% or -387.54 points, and closed at 18,960.90.

On Wednesday, November 16th, North American indexes were down across the board. The Nasdaq lost the most, dropping -1.73%, or -46.59 points to 2,639.61. The S&P dipped -20.90 points, or -1.66%, and the Dow-Jones lost 190.57 points, a change of 1.58%.

Wednesday was kinder to Europe and Asia. The Euro Stoxx 50 index gained nearly 14 points, or 0.6%. Other major markets, including the Cac-40 and the Ibex gained between 0.5% and 0.8%. The Dax declined -0.33% to 5,913.36, and the FTSE 100 shaved just -0.15% to end at 5,509.02.

The Nikkei ended down just -0.08%, or 6.5 points, and the Hang Seng dropped -0.88%, or 167.62 to end at 18,793.30. The Shanghai Composite posted gains of 10.80 points, or 0.25%, to end up at 4,258.20.

On Friday, the Dow managed to close up for the day at 11,796.20, an increase of 25.43 points, or 0.22%. The S&P ended down -0.48 points, just 0.04% at 1,215.65. The Nasdaq was the hardest hit for the day and the week, down 0.60%, or 15.5 points for the day.

For the week, the Dow Jones ended the week down -2.9%, the S&P 500 was -3.8% in the red at the close of trading on Friday, and the Nasdaq slid nearly -4%.

Gold closed at $1,725 per troy ounce; silver at $32.28. Crude oil closed at $97.41 per barrel and natural gas at $3.32.

Toronto’s TSX Composite slid 22.99 points, -0.19%, ending at 11,892.40.

Things were no better across the pond on Friday. London’s FTSE lost -1.11%, or more than -60 points, to close at 5,362.94. The Cac-40 in France closed at 2,997.01, after a loss of -13.28 points, or -0.44%. Germany’s Dax lost -49.93 points, or some -0.85%, to land at 5,800.24. The IBEX again gained 0.48%, or 39.5 points, ending at 8,310.10. The Euro Stoxx 50 ended at 2,236.68, a loss of -6.10 points or -0.27%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite lost -81.20 points, or 1.91%, to end at 4,177.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost -326.24 points, or -1.73%, ending at 18,481.20, and the Nikkei lost -1.23%, or 104.72 points, to end at 8,374.91.

Lean Times in Hungary

The IMF announced on Friday that it had received a request for financial assistance from the Hungarian government. This news came on the heels of an IMF team’s visit to Budapest to conduct a routine “economic surveillance” review of the country. Hungary began the week with it’s currency, the forint, hitting a record low on Monday, Nov. 14. The forint is currently the world’s lowest performing currency. A major concern is the risk of Hungary’s bond rating being reduced to “junk” status. Presently, Hungary’s credit rating is treading water at the lowest investment-quality grade, as rated by the big three ratings firms. Hungary is one of ten countries which joined the EU in May of 2004. Hungary previously received an IMF bailout in 2008. The government affirms that it has enough money in reserve to service its debts for the short term.

The Home Front

Yesterday, sales figures for existing homes were published.

Sales were up 1.4% in the month of October from September figures, and slightly up from this time last year as well. Median home prices, on the other hand, have declined 4.7% from a year ago.

The bipartisan Senate Super Committee, (who for the past three months has been charged with reducing the federal deficit), has failed to come to an agreement about cuts.

The Week to Come

New employment data will be released on Wednesday of this coming week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The glut of temporary holiday-related jobs are expected to inflate the employment rate. The results of the Consumer Confidence Index will also be released on Wednesday, just two days shy of the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. “Black Friday” has blurred into Thanksgiving this year, with more and more stores opening on Thanksgiving Day or at the stroke of midnight on Friday morning.