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Global markets continued to trade mixed on Friday, unable to break from the range of the last few days of trading. European markets opened lower, but then slowly moved towards the break-even line. Unlike the previous trading sessions, commodity stocks were the worst performers of the day as raw materials retraced a small part of the gains seen in over the last two weeks.
The banking sector traded mixed on Friday morning, as Barclays and Deutsche Bank traded in the red, but RBS, Lloyds and Commerzbank advanced. In addition, the volume was notably stronger than has been seen in recent trade. The strong trends observed in May proved to be very beneficial for the financial world. According to the latest research, hedge funds returned on average 5.2% in May, the most in the last 9 years.
Moreover, May was the first time in the previous 10 months when hedge funds recorded net inflows, giving further signs that investors think the worst is over. TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team notes that, together with the hedge-fund industry, that Wall Street banks should also have had solid profits in May. As such, TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team expects to see some record earnings reported in the second quarter by a number of financial institutions.
The bankrupt carmaker GM is looking to scrap its vast legacy of brands. Currently, GM announced the sale of two of its brands, the famous Hummer to the Chinese company Sichuan Tengzhong, and Saturn to the car-retailer Penske Automotive Group. The firm Koenigsegg, together with a group of Norwegian investors, plan to buy the European arm of GM, Saab. Most likely, the group will also have the support of the Swedish government, as it will avoid a large bankruptcy. Koenigsegg is a Swedish manufacturer of supercars known for their sport performances, especially for the CCXR, which is the first high performance green car capable of developing 1080 HP (which also makes it the most powerful production car in the world).
Overnight, the Japanese Nikkei rose 154.49 points (1.55%) to 10,135.82. The Australian S&P/Asx gained 15.00 points (0.37%) to 4,062.20. The U.K. Ftse declined 2.80 points (0.06%) to 4,459.40, while the German Dax lost 8.51 points (0.17%) to 5,098.75.
Crude oil for July delivery was recently trading at $72.10 per barrel, lower by $0.60.
Gold for July delivery was recently trading lower by $8.90 to $953.10.