Market Reports: 27/08/2011

New York

Wall Street posted its first weekly gain in more than a month as the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, left the door open for more stimulus measures. The Dow Jones ended up 134.72 points, or 1.21 per cent, at 11,284.54. The S&P 500 rose 17.53 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 1,176.80. The Nasdaq was up 60.22 points, or 2.49 per cent, at 2,479.85. For the week, the Dow rose 4.3 per cent and the S&P gained 4.7 per cent.

European Union

European shares ended lower after the US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke announced no fresh measures to boost sluggish growth in the world's largest economy. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed 0.6 per cent lower at 919.03 points in volume at 89 per cent of its 90-day daily average, chalking up a 1 per cent gain for the week after falling by 19 per cent in the previous four weeks.

Tokyo

Japan's Nikkei average ticked up on bargain-hunting and marked its first weekly gain in five weeks, with investors awaiting a speech from the US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke for clues on what steps the central bank will take to support the economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 per cent to 8,797.78 for a weekly gain of 0.9 per cent. The broader Topix index gained 0.6 per cent to close at 756.07.