US stocks dip as Trump talks of more tariffs on China
Wall Street stocks finished slightly lower Friday as President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats and attack on the Federal Reserve kept a lid on gains despite largely solid earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down less than 0.1 percent at 25,058.06.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.1 percent to close the week at 2,801.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also fell 0.1 percent to 7,820.20.
With the majority of larger earnings reports still to come, companies are on track to report second-quarter earnings about 20 percent above those of the year-ago period, according to a note from Credit Suisse.
Among companies reporting results, Microsoft won 1.8 percent after reporting a 10 percent rise in quarterly profit to $8.8 billion behind strong revenue gains in internet search ads, gaming, Windows and other key businesses.
Honeywell International advanced 3.8 percent as the industrial company raised its forecast for annual profits and sales amid strong demand from aerospace and defense clients.
But General Electric sank 4.5 percent after it reported a 29.7 percent drop in second-quarter earnings to $615 million on continued power industry weakness.
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KSE-100 plunges 574 points as profit-booking takes over
The KSE-100 Index broke a short, but strong winning streak to end negative on Friday, ending near the 41,200 level after a 574-point fall.
After having gained nearly 5.4 percent in the previous three sessions, adding 2,130 points, the KSE-100 saw selling pressure and profit-taking as general elections loom closer.
The day kicked off with a sharp plunge with weakening economic fundamentals and profit-taking taking over investor sentiment.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 573.84 points or 1.37 percent to settle at 41,221.75.
Overall, trading volumes decreased to 222.7 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 337.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.8 billion.
Shares of 350 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 82 stocks closed higher, 244 declined while 24 remained unchanged.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 20.9 million shares, losing Rs0.63 to close at Rs12.28. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 19 million shares, losing Rs0.04 to close at Rs12.83 and K Electric with 14.1 million shares, losing Rs0.19 to close at Rs5.44.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs80.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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Hong Kong shares marginally higher
Hong Kong stocks edged up Friday, after US equities took a hit following President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.
The Hang Seng Index inched up 0.1 percent, or 28.24 points, to 28,039.10.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.10 percent lower, or 2.80 points, to 2,769.75, and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, slipped 0.41 percent, or 6.49 points, to 1,569.09.
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Tokyo stocks lower on stronger Yen
Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday extending falls on Wall Street as the yen firmed against the dollar after the US president’s comments on the Fed’s rate policy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.19 percent, or 42.67 points, to 22,722.01 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.15 percent, or 2.57 points, at 1,747.02 yen.
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Australia shares to slip on material losses, NZ flat
Australian shares are seen falling at open on Friday, tracking Wall Street losses overnight, with material stocks expected to weigh down on the index after base metal prices retreated.
Copper prices plunged to one-year lows on Thursday as fund-selling accelerated on worries about demand from the trade tussle between the United States and top consumer China, while Aluminium traded down 1.3 percent to $2,001.
The local share price index futures slipped 0.2 percent, or 11 points, to 6,201, a 61.7-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Thursday.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was close to flat at 2210 GMT.
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Gulf markets mixed; SABIC edges up on Aramco plan
Gulf stock markets were mixed in early trade on Thursday, with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) nudging up in Saudi Arabia after Saudi Aramco said it was in early talks to acquire a stake in the petrochemical giant.
SABIC, the largest listed company in the Gulf, was up by 0.2 percent in early trading.
That followed separate statements on Thursday from Saudi Aramco and Public Investment Fund (PIF) saying that Aramco was in early talks to acquire a stake in SABIC from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the government was considering a plan for Aramco to buy a stake in the petrochemical maker.
Another gainer on the Saudi market was Alinma Bank , which rose 1.8 percent after reporting a 27.3 percent climb in second-quarter net profit to 621 million riyals ($165.6 million).
The main index was flat as investors waited until more companies announce second-quarter results.
In Qatar, the biggest gainer was Commercial Bank, which climbed 1.8 percent after beating estimates with a five-fold increase in second-quarter net profit.
The main Qatar index lost 0.4 percent.
Dubai’s index fell 0.3 percent, while Abu Dhabi’s index was flat.
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TSX lower as financials, industrials drag
Canada’s main stock index opened lower on Friday, pressured by losses in financial and industrial stocks, as President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on all $500 billion of Chinese imports into the United States.
At 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was down 57.05 points, or 0.34 percent, at 16,485.96.