Friday 13th turned out to be a positive one for stock markets, as markets reversed the steep losses seen in the first half of the week. However, it wasn’t enough for some US indexes which, depending on what time you measured returns at on Friday evening, hit a six-week losing streak for the first time in a decade. In company news Saudi Aramco has become the world’s largest company, overtaking Apple as higher oil prices sent the state-owned crude exporter to record levels. Whilst the Saudi Arabian oil company is not fully floated on the stock market, its market capitalisation on Wednesday was $2.426tn, exceeding Apple’s $2.415tn by just over $10bn.
Over the weekend, NATO reaffirmed its support for Ukraine as all sides tacitly acknowledge that the war is liable to become a prolonged affair. Yesterday, Finland stated it would formally apply for NATO membership this week, with Sweden expected to follow suit.
