US markets set to end week higher

Most equities markets in Asia and the Pacific were higher on Friday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which dropped 0.15 percent to 20,602.87, was the major exception. In India, the Sensex added 0.18 percent to 14,570.75, while the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.34 percent to 6,363.5 in Australia. The Straits Times index in Singapore added 1.03 percent to 3,547.28. The Tokyo markets saw gains, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.5 percent to 17,958.88 after going past the 18,000 level briefly. The Topix index added 0.7 percent to 1,767.88. Carmakers were higher in Tokyo, while food and beverages and toymakers also both saw advances. Some consumer finance lenders declined on the session.

Wall Street was higher at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.3 percent to 13,664.61 for a gain of 1.2 percent on the week. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.5 percent to 2,618.28, a gain of 2.4 percent on the week. The Nasdaq is up 8.4 percent on the year so far. The S&P 500 had gained 0.4 percent by mid-session to 1,537.39, up 1.4 percent on the week and, as with the Nasdaq, up 8.4 percent on the year to date. Computer related sectors, including computer makers, internet search engines and software designers were higher on the session. There were also gains among retailers and in the media sector.

European markets also saw gains on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.87 percent higher to 1,625.4. In Paris, the CAC-40 added 1.05 percent to 6,16 8.15, while the Madrid IBEX gained 1.12 percent to 15,501.5 and the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was 1.33 percent higher to 7,987.85. The telecommunications sector was higher on the day, as were French carmakers and German retailers. Utilities were mixed. London’s equities markets were up as well. The FTSE 100 added 0.84 percent to 6,676.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.71 percent to 12,196.7. Miners saw gains again as metals prices remained strong. Pubs operators and the telecommunications sector also saw gains, while utilities and drug makers saw declines.

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