April was great, now will May follow the old American traders’ adage of ‘Sell in May and go away’?
Many investors hope not because they have been pleasantly surprised with the rally since early March which resumed for most markets last week.
Stocks rose Friday in most markets, despite another day of mixed data flows in the US, Japan, parts of Europe and Asia and Australia.
Oil rose, the US economy seems to be a touch healthier, but the Japanese economy is slowly being gripped by deflation, a consequence of the intense recession.
Unemployment rose to 4.8%, a four year high. Consumer prices fell 0.1%, excluding food, a glum note for the country.
The Dow, the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq all ended higher on the day and over the week.
The Dow and S&P 500 have now gained for 7 of the last 8 weeks.
The S&P 500 is up 30% since touching that 12-year low on March 9.
For the latest week, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.7% and the S&P 500 gained 1.3%; Nasdaq rose 1.5%.
The Nasdaq has now gained for 8 weeks in a row, its best winning run since December 1999, as the tech and net boom steamed towards implosion.
Asian markets ended higher and European markets mostly ended higher.
Asia rose for the seventh time in eight weeks, sending the key regional index to its highest level in four months.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.6% over the week, to end at its highest level since early January.
Asian markets have rallied 29% since the MSCI dropped to an almost six-year low on March 9.
Japan’s Nikkei surged 3.1%. Indonesia posted the region’s largest gain with an 8.3% jump on good profits from local companies, including banks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.5%.
Taiwan’s market jumped 19% Thursday on the move by China Mobile to buy a stake in a local mobile phone company in the first ever deal from the mainland in Taiwan.
In Australia the ASX200 index rose 1.5% over the week.
Australia’s dollar rose for a ninth week against the greenback to finish around 73.05 USc.
With other European markets closed for a holiday Friday, the FTSE 100 index closed 0.49 points lower after rising 1.3% on Thursday. It rose 2.1% over the week.
The FTSE 100 has rebounded 22.6% from the low on March 9, trimming its 2009 decline to 4.3%.
The UK’s blue-chip index in April posted its biggest monthly percentage rise since 2003 and is up 22.6% since a six-year low point on March 9.
For the month, the Nasdaq gained 12.3%, the S&P 500 gained 9.4% and the Dow Jones gained 7.3%.
US crude futures jumped $US2.08 to settle at $US53.20 a barrel in New York. Brent crude in London settled up $US2.05 at $US52.85.
Analysts said OPEC reduced supply in April, implementing 84%, up from around 80% in March.
The rise in oil led the best day’s trading for commodities in four weeks.
Grains and sugar were also stronger.
The Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index jumped 3% Friday, the biggest rise since April 3.
Wheat soared 6.2% on drought worries in The Ukraine, oil climbed 4.1%.
The better US consumer sentiment figures and improved manufacturing surveys in China, parts of Europe and the US also helped bolster confidence.
With all the positive news, June Comex gold futures fell $US3 to $US889 an ounce.
Copper rose to the highest price in more than a week after the news of the improvement in China’s manufacturing.
The Purchasing Manager’s Index climbed to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April in China, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
July copper futures rose 5.35USc, or 2.6% on Comex in New York to finish at $US2.101. The copper price rose 2.4% last week and is up almost 50% so far this year.
Stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell 1.7% Friday to 398,700 tonnes. Supplies fell for 15 straight sessions, down 19% in April, the largest monthly drop since March of last year.
In New York sugar prices jumped to their highest since July 2006 on forecasts for a global supply deficit sparked by a record drop in output in India, the world’s second- largest producer.
India’s output could fall by 2.3 million tonnes this year, cutting the global surplus to 9 million tonnes.
July raw-sugar futures rose 4.8%, to 15.05 USc a pound in New York. Earlier, the price reached 15.13 USc, the highest for a most- active contract since late July, 2006.
And wheat jumped the most in five months on speculation that dry weather will curb yields from crops in Russia and Ukraine, where the harvest is due to start next month.
Wheat futures jumped 6.2% on Friday
July futures rose 33.5c to $US5.70 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the best rise in percentage terms since last November.
Futures still are down 6.7% so far this year.
And coffee prices ended the week on a high note, up more than 4% on the week and over 7.5% for the year so far. July Arabica futures ended at $US1.204 a pound in New York.
