Yesterday world financial markets closed on the rise due to the ECB’s decision to launch its quantitative easing (QE) scheme. According to the ECB, QE will begin this March and last all the way to September 2016 or till the inflation rate reaches 2% per annum. The daily bond-buying amount is set at 60 billion euro.
Thursday’s trading in Europe resulted in the FTSE 100 growing 1.02 percent up to 6,796.63 points, the DAX adding 1.32 percent up to 10,435.62 points and the CAC 40 advancing 1.52 percent up to 4,552.80 points.
In Russia, the MICEX index grew 2.99 percent making 1,666.56 points, the highest rate since 2011, while the RTS index shot up by 4.48 percent reaching 817.14 points. Besides an earlier rise in oil prices, the indices were boosted by President Vladimir Putin’s preliminary approval of the Russian government’s large-scale crisis management plan for 2015 to the tune of 1.375 trillion rubles.
In the USA, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 1.48 percent up to 17,813.98 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.53 percent getting to 2,063.15 points, and the NASDAQ Composite advanced 1.78 percent closing at 4,750.40 points.
Oil prices finished with a drop after posting a rise earlier. The NYMEX price of WTI oil futures went down by $1.47 and closed at $46.31 a barrel. On London’s ICE, after testing the rate of $50 a barrel during the day, Brent oil futures for March ended the trading session with a $0.14 drop and reached $48.89 a barrel. Today oil prices are rising due to reports about the death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He’s succeeded by his half-brother Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
On the Forex market, EUR/USD went down more.