BANKS PUSH PAKISTAN STOCKS DOWN
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under pressure as the financiers opted to book profit on available margins on the last trading day Friday.
Banking sector led the decline and the benchmark KSE-100 index fell by 306.52 points to 49,210.50 points. The market opened on a positive note and the index hit 49,670.84 points intra-day high level, however selling pressure in different sectors pushed the index into the negative territory at 49,151.47 points intra-day low level.
Trading activity also remained low as the daily trading volumes on the ready counter decreased to 514.224 million shares as compared to 563.160 million shares traded Thursday. The market capitalization declined by Rs27 billion to Rs9.859 trillion. Out of total 432 active scrips, 263 closed in negative, 161 in positive while the value of 8 stocks remained unchanged. First Dawood Bank was the volume leader with 28.842 million shares.
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EUROPEAN SHARES MOVE HIGHER
European shares increased on Monday, led higher by banks stocks, with Britain’s bluechip index finishing at an all-time high after extending a record winning streak to 14 days. However, shares of French media company Technicolor fell 19.7 percent in their worst-ever one-day loss after a profit warning.
The European banking index was the top sectoral gainer, up 2 percent, helped by strong earnings from large lenders in the US and the outlook for higher interest rates in the world’s largest economy. The European auto index rose 0.8 percent. The index came off earlier highs after reports that French prosecutors were investigating Renault over suspected emissions cheating sent shares in the French car maker down 2.9 percent, partly offsetting a rebound in Fiat Chrysler.
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FTSE EXTENDS HISTORIC WINNING STREAK
Britain’s bluechip share index reached record highs on Friday, extending its historic winning streak to a 14th straight day of gains.
The index’s longest winning run since its inception in 1984 has also been notable for the relatively modest daily gains. After touching an all-time record high of 7,338.49 points, it ended the session at a record ending level of 7,337.81 points, up 0.6 percent.
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TOKYO STOCKS RALLY, TAKATA SOARS
Tokyo shares rallied Friday as retailers and drugmakers jumped, while embattled Takata soared on news it may announce a settlement with US regulators over its exploding airbag crisis. But gains were capped after Wall Street ended in the red as a post-election equities rally – driven by hopes for big stimulus spending under Donald Trump – appears to be running out of steam.
Financiers were disappointed that the US president-elect did not give details about his plans for the economy when he held his first official media briefing this week.
The benchmark Nikkei index rose 0.80 percent, or 152.58 points, to close at 19,287.28. Over the week it lost 0.86 percent. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 0.62 percent, or 9.48 points, to 1,544.89. It was down 0.54 percent over the week.
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CHINA STOCKS REMAIN LOWER, HIT BY TECH STOCKS
China’s main indexes declined for the fourth session on Friday, pressured by tech stocks as faster approval of IPOs exacerbated concerns over the valuations of smaller-cap stocks.
The bluechip CSI300 index rose 0.1 percent, to 3,319.91 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 percent to 3,112.76 points. For the week, CSI was down 0.9 percent, while SSEC was down 1.3 percent. The tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index, China’s equivalent of the Nasdaq, slid 1.6 percent in its 7th session of losses to hit a fresh 10-month low, as faster approvals for IPOs increased the supply of equity in the market.
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SRI LANKAN SHARES AT 2-WEEK HIGH
Sri Lankan stocks closed at their highest level in two weeks on Friday, led by beverage and manufacturing shares, as sentiment improved after a European Union executive proposed that the bloc reinstates a trade concession to Sri Lanka.
The European Commission on Wednesday said in a statement that it has proposed increased market access or Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) for Sri Lanka as a reform incentive.
Markets were closed on Thursday on account of a religious holiday. The Colombo stock index ended 0.54 percent firmer at 6,217.72, its highest close since December 30.
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INDIAN STOCKS SLIGHTLY LOWER
Indian shares closed slightly lower on Friday, reversing three straight sessions of gains, as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd slumped on worries about its future following key management changes, while its peers fell on profit-taking.
The broader NSE index closed down 0.1 percent at 8,400.35 while the benchmark BSE index ended down 0.03 percent at 27,238.06. For the week, the NSE gained 1.9 percent while the BSE advanced 1.8 percent, their third consecutive weekly gains.
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TAIWAN SHARES DECLINE
Taiwan stocks declined on Friday on profit-taking after the world’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC reported a record fourth-quarter profit but forecast slower business for its first quarter. Asian shares wobbling also kept overall trading cautious. As of 0330 GMT, the main TAIEX index was down 0.4 percent at 9,371.82, after closing up 0.7 percent in the previous session.
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HONG KONG SHARES REBOUND
Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday to cap a 3-week winning streak, helped by strength in the energy sector and heavyweight China Vanke Co Ltd, the mainland’s second largest developer.
The benchmark Hang Seng index added 0.5 percent, to 22,937.38 points, hitting a 2-1/2-month closing high, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent, to 9,787.34 points.The main index added 1.9 percent this week. Investors cheered Vanke’s breakthrough in a high-profile corporate power tussle that has lasted over a year, after its No 2 shareholder China Resources Group decided to sell its entire stake to Shenzhen Metro Group.