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FINANCIAL MARKET REVIEW FOR NOVEMBER 17, 2017 In the final session of this week, Asian Shares recovered most of their loss after rising strongly today following the big earnings that took place in Wall Street in yesterday’s session. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.6 percent in late afternoon trade. But it was down 0.1 percent for the week. Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained 0.2 percent, extending its recovery from a near three-week intraday low hit on Thursday. But it was down 1.3 percent for the week, snapping its nine-week gaining streak. Futures portended mostly solid openings for markets in Europe, with European stock futures STXEc1 and DAX futures FDXc1 each up 0.1 percent, and CAC futures FCEc1 marginally higher. FTSE futures FFIc1 were down 0.1 percent. Wall Street’s main indexes rose sharply on Thursday, boosted by strong gains in Wal-Mart (WMT.N) and Cisco (CSCO.O) following their earnings. The S&P 500 .SPX advanced 0.82 percent to turn positive for the week, a day after hitting a three-week low, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.3 percent to a closing record high of 6,793.29. MSCI’s broadest gauge of the world’s stock markets .MIWD00000PUS stemmed its five-day losing streak and posted its biggest daily gain in two months, of 0.80 percent, on Thursday. Moving to the currency market, The U.S. dollar, however, lost momentum and fell broadly following the media report Mueller issued a subpoena to more than a dozen officials in the Trump administration. The dollar skidded 0.4 percent to 112.57 yen hitting its lowest level in almost a month. It was down 0.9 percent for the week against its Japanese counterpart. The euro EUR gained 0.3 percent to $1.1808, edging back towards its one-month peak of $1.1862 touched on Wednesday and up 1.2 percent for the week. The dollar slipped on Friday, weakened by a Wall Street Journal report that investigators into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election had subpoenaed President Donald Trump’s election campaign for documents. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.35 percent at 93.593. The index had edged up overnight to pull away from a four-week trough of 93.402 set on Wednesday. Wall Street shares rallied overnight after sagging through much of the week, causing a 4 basis points jump in the long-term Treasury yield to shore up the dollar. The euro rose 0.35 percent to $1.1814, paring overnight losses. The common currency was on track to gain 1.2 percent on the week. It had rallied to a one-month high of $1.1862 on Wednesday after data showed strong growth for Germany’s economy in the third quarter. Against the sagging dollar, sterling extended gains after drawing support overnight when an initiative by European Central Bank President Donald Tusk on Brexit negotiations was taken as mildly positive. The pound rose 0.35 percent to $1.3238 to put further distance between the week’s low of $1.3063 marked on Monday when perceived troubles for British Prime Minister Theresa May hurt the currency. The Australian dollar crawled up 0.15 percent to $0.7598. It was still poised to end 1 percent lower on the week, during which it sank to a near five-month low of $0.7567 on lower commodity prices and weak domestic data. Sterling rose against the dollar on Thursday an initiative by European Central Bank President Donald Tusk on Brexit negotiations was taken as mildly positive, on a day when currencies mostly stuck to well-worn trading ranges. Sterling extended gains, rising 0.25 percent to $1.3208. Against the euro, the pound was 0.2 percent up at 89.25 pence, still close to Wednesday’s trough of 90.14 pence. Progress between European and British negotiators at the December summit in Brussels is seen as an important milestone in the Brexit talks, as businesses seek clarity on the terms of the divorce by the New Year, when many will make investment decisions. Finally in the commodity market, Oil prices were steady on Friday but on track for the first weekly fall in six weeks, under pressure from surging U.S. supplies and creeping doubts over Russian support for continuing a cut in crude output. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $61.23 per barrel down 3 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.36 a barrel, up 22 cents. Traders said strong U.S. crude exports were lifting WTI. Still, crude was set to fall around 2-4 percent for the week on worries about growth in U.S. production and inventories, after both benchmarks touched 2015 highs last week. View our full economic calendar for a daily roundup of major economic events.