PSX STANDS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday achieved another milestoneas the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed 49,000 points psychological level andended at new high of 49,038.23 points with healthy increase of 324.60 points.
Trading activities also improved on the last trading day ofthe week as daily trading volumes increased to 430.724 million shares ascompared to 329.241 million shares traded on Thursday.
Total market capitalization rose by Rs 41 billion to Rs 9.795trillion. Out of total 423 active scrips, 264 closed in positive and 140 innegative while value of 19 stocks remained unchanged. The foreign investors,however remained net sellers of shares and withdrew $4.2 million from Pakistanstock market. Dost Steels was the volume leader with 51.084 million shares andgained Rs 0.98 to close at Rs 14.26 followed by Aisha Steel Mill increased by Re1 to close at Rs 18.71 with 30.996 million shares.
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NASDAQ REACHES REGISTER HIGH
The Nasdaq squeaked out a record high close on Thursday,while deep drops in Macy’s, Kohl’s and other department stores weighed on thebroader stock market.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2 percent to end at 5,487.94,less than 1 point higher than its previous record high close on December 27. TheDow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.21 percent to end at 19,899.29 while the S&P500 lost 0.08 percent to 2,269.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell, with financialsdown 1.02 percent and hurt by J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. TheS&P 500 recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Compositerecorded 86 new highs and 15 new lows. About 7.2 billion shares changed hands inUS exchanges, more than the 6.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.
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FTSE RECORDS FIFTH STRAIGHT WEEKLY GAIN
Britain’s top share index recorded a record high close onFriday, rounding off its fifth straight week of gains, after US non-farmpayrolls data showed fewer jobs than expected but growth in wages.
The FTSE 100 index was up 14.74 points or 0.2 percent at7,210.05 points, the index’s first-ever close above 7,200. After ending 2016 ona record high, the FTSE 100 has rallied further to hit two fresh record highssince, its last at 7,211.96 points.
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EUROPEAN STOCKS SPRING BACK
European stocks rallied from lows on Friday after a strongerthan anticipated rise in earnings in a flagship US jobs report made up for aweaker-than-forecast payrolls figure.
The benchmark STOXX 600 index recorded its best weeklyperformance since the middle of December as it turned higher following thenon-farm payrolls report.
The STOXX 600, which had been down 0.4 percent ahead of thedata, closed down just 0.1 percent. Britain’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 indexended up 0.2 percent, and posted its highest closing level ever. It also posteda fifth straight week of gains.
The STOXX 600 remained 0.4 percent down from a one-year highset earlier this week, but was still up 1.1 percent this week.
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TOKYO STOCKS DECLINE
Tokyo shares drifted lower on Friday as yen strength weighedon sentiment and following falls on Wall Street. Exporters faced pressure fromthe weaker dollar, while Toyota declined after US President-elect Donald Trumpfired off a tweet threatening the company with tariffs over a plant it isbuilding in Mexico.
The benchmark Nikkei stock index lost 0.34 percent or 66.36points to close at 19,454.33. Over the holiday-shortened week, it rose 1.78percent. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues declined 0.15percent, or 2.36 points, to 1,553.32. It gained 2.29 percent for the week.
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INDIAN STOCKS END LOWER
Indian shares closed down on Friday from a near two-monthhigh hit earlier in the session, as a slump in IT shares on worries over H-1Bvisas outweighed positive sentiment from continued gains in Asian stocks. TheNifty IT index dropped 2.79 percent.
The broader NSE index ended down 0.36 percent at 8,243.8,after hitting its highest since November 11 earlier in the day. The index ended0.71 percent higher for the week, its second such gain.
The benchmark BSE index ended down 0.44 percent at 26,759.23,but gained 0.50 percent for the week. However, overall sentiment remained upbeatwith the broader NSE index heading for a weekly gain of 1 percent in what couldbe its second such rise.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN SHARES SOAR
Southeast Asian stock markets closed higher on Friday, asuncertainty over incoming President Donald Trump’s policies weighed on thedollar and US bond yields, boosting risk appetite for emerging markets.
Malaysian stocks gained 0.9 percent to an over two-monthhigh, led by telecom and financial stocks as foreign investors net bought sharesworth 136.4 million ringgit. The index gained 2.1 percent on the week.
Philippine shares ended 0.5 percent higher, led by industrialand real estate stocks. The index gained 6.0 percent on the week, its biggestweekly gain since May 13, 2016. Vietnam shares ended 0.6 percent up with SaigonBeer Alcohol Beverage Corp and Vietcombank lifting the index higher. The indexrose 2.3 percent on the week. Singapore gained 2.8 percent on the week,Indonesia added 1 percent and Thailand rose 1.9 percent.
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SRI LANKAN STOCKS RISE
Sri Lankan shares edged higher on Friday, closing a five-daylosing streak and recovering from a nine-month low hit in the prior session asinvestors picked up battered down shares.
Foreign investors turned net buyers on Friday afteroffloading shares for five straight sessions. Foreign investors bought a net26.95 million rupees ($180,026.72) worth of equities on Friday. They have beennet sellers to the tune of 969.69 million rupees so far this year.
The Colombo stock index closed 0.09 percent up at 6,153.02,edging up from its lowest close since April 4 hit on Thursday.