In this latest weekly sequence, Asia continues to lag. The Nikkei was stable for the second week in a row, the Hang Seng lost 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite 1.8%.
In Europe, the CAC40 ended down 0.5%, thanks in particular to the good performance of the luxury goods sector. Its German counterpart, the DAX, lost 1.6% and the FTSE fell by 1.3%. For the peripheral countries of the euro zone, Spain lost 2.1%, Portugal 1.6% and Italy 1.2%.
The SMI is accelerating upwards, with an increase of 1.1% over the last five days, boosted by the return in strength of the three heavyweights of the index: Roche, Nestlé Novartis (see chart).
In the United States, the Dow Jones is looking grim, with a weekly decline of 3.2% and the S&P500 is losing 1.5%. Sectoral arbitrage continues to benefit technology stocks, with the NASDAQ 100 climbing another 0.7% on the week.
Commodities
The price of a barrel of WTI returned to peaks dating back to 2018, before marking a slight consolidation under the effect of the appreciation of the dollar. US crude is trading around $71.5. Brent is trading at $73.5.
The Fed, which was the catalyst for the week, showed its optimism. The rise in the dollar has put downward pressure on gold. The yellow metal has lost nearly 5% over the past 5 days. A reaction seen as a bit of an overreaction for some. But with the Federal Reserve's expected rate hikes, the appeal of gold is not likely to improve, as this increases its cost of ownership.
Overall, the commodities market continues to depress. Lumber is down 15% as supply chains improve. Grains are also losing ground: upcoming harvests are fueling supply and future weather forecasts are improving.
The red metal is not immune either, with China cutting into its industrial metals inventory to curb prices. Copper is down 7.5%