The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed on Friday, as the Dow put to rest an eight-day losing streak with a boost from energy stocks, but losses in the technology space kept the Nasdaq in check.
Exxon Mobil rose 2.1 percent and Chevron gained 2.0 percent, as the two biggest boosts to the S&P. The S&P energy index was up 2.2 percent, as the sector notched its strongest day in June.
A rally in oil prices due to OPEC’s earlier decision to restrict supply in an effort to drain global inventories has given the sector a gain of more than 11 percent for the quarter-to-date, best among the 11 major S&P groups.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119.19 points, or 0.49 percent, to 24,580.89, the S&P 500 gained 5.12 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,754.88 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.14 points, or 0.26 percent, to 7,692.82.
For the week, the Dow lost 2 percent, its weakest weekly performance since late March. The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.7 percent.
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Pakistan Stocks Lose Over 700 Points
Bears continued to dominate the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday as the benchmark index fell for the third successive session and closed below 41,700 points.
Growing concerns over Pakistan’s economic outlook led to panic selling by investors that pushed the index deep in the red. Heavy selling by foreigners also dented the KSE-100 significantly.
Although the index opened upwards, the positive trend did not last long and it tumbled 797 points in intra-day trading. There was across-the-board selling in stocks.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a slump of 721.23 points or 1.70 percent to settle at 41,637.38.
Overall, trading volumes decreased to 178.97 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 241.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.7 billion.
Shares of 347 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 75 stocks closed higher, 257 declined while 15 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 20.3 million shares, losing Rs0.18 to close at Rs5.32. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 15.9 million shares, losing Rs0.35 to close at Rs12.44 and Lotte Chemical Pakistan with 11.9 million shares, losing Rs0.22 to close at Rs12.13.
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Hong Kong, Shanghai Stocks End Week With Gains
Hong Kong stocks finished a painful week on a positive note Friday but investors remain on edge about a possible trade war between China and the United States.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.15 percent, or 42.65 points, to close at 29,338.70, sinking 3.18 percent over the week.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.49 percent, or 13.95 points, to 2,889.76 but it lost 4.37 percent over the week.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, added 1.21 percent, or 19.06 points, to 1,597.39, shedding 5.57 percent since last Friday’s close.
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Tokyo Stocks Close Lower On Higher Yen
Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday as a higher yen weighed on the market, reflecting worries over escalating trade tensions.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.78 percent or 176.21 points to 22,516.83. Over the week, the index fell 1.47 percent.
The broader Topix index fell 0.33 percent or 5.80 points to end at 1,744.83. Over the week, it dropped 2.47 percent.
In Tokyo, automakers were trading lower after luxury German carmaker Daimler cut its profit forecasts for 2018, blaming new tariffs on cars exported from the United States to China.
Honda lost 1.96 percent to 3,342 yen and Toyota dropped 2.66 percent ot 7,199 yen.
Steelmakers however rebounded from negative territory in earlier trade, with JFE closing up 0.14 percent at 2,135 yen and Nippon Steel ending up 0.09 percent at 2,169 yen, in apparent bargain-hunting purchases, after a losing streak of nearly a week.
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India’s Sensex, Nifty Jump
The domestic equity market staged a smart recovery during the fag-end session of the trade, as Sensex and Nifty rose up to 0.75 per cent, on gains in bank, FMCG and auto stocks. Thanks to Friday’s gains, both Sensex and Nifty rose for the week, gaining 0.18 per cent and 0.03 per cent, respectively.
The BSE Sensex closed the day with a gain of 257 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 35,690, with 23 stocks advancing and 8 declining.
HDFC, HDFC Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank 0.91 percent and Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the key contributors to the rise in Sensex.
On the other hand, Reliance Industries -1.88 percent, Tata Consultancy Services -0.52 percent and Coal India featured as the top drags on the Sensex index.
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Canada Stocks Rise
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX rose 114.99 points, or 0.70 percent, to 16,450.14. The biggest contributor to the TSX gain was Whitecap Resources , while the energy sector provided the biggest boost. Whitecap Resources, up 7.9 percent, also led percentage gainers, followed by Cenovus Energy Inc, up 7.7 percent, and Nuvista Energy Ltd , higher by 6.4 percent.
Lagging shares were BlackBerry Ltd, down 9.3 percent, Canopy Growth Corp, down 9.1 percent, and Canada Goose Holdings Inc, lower by 7.4 percent.
On the TSX 170 issues advanced and 72 declined as a 2.4-to-1 ratio favored advancers. There were 13 new highs and 1 new lows, with total volume of 229.4 million shares.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis Inc, Canopy Growth Corp and Aphria Inc.
The TSX’s energy group rose 7.06 points, or 3.63 percent, while the financials sector climbed 1.09 points, or 0.36 percent.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 5.68 percent, or $3.72, to $69.26 a barrel. Brent crude rose 3.6 percent, or $2.63, to $75.68. The TSX is up 1.5 percent for the year.
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Sri Lankan Stocks Post Fifth Straight Losing Week
Sri Lankan shares ended steady on Friday, staying close to the 14-month low hit this week and marking their fifth straight week of losses.
The Colombo stock index ended 0.01 percent weaker at 6,228.15, hovering near its lowest close since April 2017 hit on Wednesday. The bourse fell 1.63 percent this week.
Turnover was 277.4 million rupees ($1.8 million), well below this year’s daily average of 942 million rupees.
Foreign investors sold equities net worth 72.7 million rupees, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflows to 934.3 million rupees of shares so far this year.
Shares of Dialog Axiata Plc ended 0.2 percent weaker, while Melstacorp Ltd fell 0.9 percent.
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Tuesday said the country’s economy is likely to grow around 4.5 percent this year, below the central bank estimate of 5 percent in a sign political uncertainty is curbing a more robust recovery after a weak 2017.