Pakistan stocks gain 175 points in range-bound trading
A day after losing 480 points, the KSE-100 Index gained 175 points in range-bound trading on Friday, driven by exploration and production and financial stocks.
The market kicked off on a negative note and fell over 200 points in initial trading. However, heavy buying by investors in selective stocks pushed the benchmark Index above 42,500 points. There were occasional dips that made some stocks attractive for investors. Traded volumes dipped 29% to 203 million shares while the traded value fell to $75 million. Shares of 375 companies were traded.
At the end of the day, 198 stocks closed higher, 158 declined while 19 remained unchanged. Engro Polymer was the volume leader with 25 million shares, losing Rs0.34 to close at Rs35.20. It was followed by DS Industries with 17.9 million shares, losing Rs1 to close at Rs4.51 and Unity Foods with 13.6 million shares, gaining Rs1.47 to close at Rs33.83.
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US stocks advance, Apple shares modestly up
US stocks advanced on Friday as upbeat earnings helped investors shrug off heightened trade anxieties and weaker-than-expected July jobs growth.
For the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained ground, up 0.8 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively, while the Dow was essentially flat. The S&P 500 notched its fifth straight weekly gain, its longest such streak of the year.
The second-quarter reporting season nears its final stretch with 406 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, 78.6 percent of which came in above Street estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Shares of Apple Inc rose modestly a day after becoming the first publicly-traded US company to reach $1 trillion in market value.
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Japan’s topix index drops
Japan’s Topix index of shares dropped on Friday as Sino-US trade tensions and upcoming trade talks between Washington and Tokyo kept investors on edge, although the Nikkei managed to eke out slight gains partly due to a sharp rise in Suzuki Motor.
The Topix, the market-weighted index of all shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board, fell 0.54 percent to 1,742.58, its lowest close in three weeks, with decliners outnumbering gainers by almost 4 to 1. The Nikkei average ended 0.06 percent higher at 22,525.18 thanks to gains in a small number of shares that have disproportionately high weightings such as Fast Retailing , Fanuc and Suzuki.
Suzuki rose 8.6 percent after the automaker posted record profits for the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates.
That alone boosted the Nikkei by more than 20 points, or 0.09 percentage point. On the week, both the Topix and the Nikkei posted their first weekly losses in four weeks.
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Hong Kong, Shanghai stocks end week on a low
Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks ended a tough week with fresh losses on Friday as China-US trade war tensions dragged on investor confidence. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.14 percent, or 38.24 points, to 27,676.32. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.00 percent, or 27.58 points, to 2,740.44 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, lost 1.72 percent, or 25.99 points, to 1,486.06.
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Britain’s FTSE rises as RBS and Mondi gain
The UK’s top share index climbed higher on Friday as cyclical stocks recovered thanks to a respite from trade and Brexit worries, while results from Mondi and RBS were well-received.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.4 percent at 7,606.09 points in early trade, though it was on track for its biggest weekly loss since March with a 1.2 percent slide. This week fresh concerns over global trade marred sentiment, after US President Donald Trump ramped up the pressure on China by proposing a higher 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Shares in RBS jumped 2.7 percent and touched their highest level since the end of June after the bank reported half-year results.
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SE Asia stocks mostly gain; Philippines up for 4th straight week
Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended higher on Friday, with the Philippines rising for a fourth straight week, but gains were capped ahead of a US jobs report which could provide cues on the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
Sentiment in broader Asia was muted, with Asian shares ex-Japan trading flat after Beijing vowed on Thursday to retaliate to the threat of higher tariffs from the United States on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Philippine shares ended 0.8 percent higher, led by financials.
The index is up more than 1.5 percent for the week. Ayala Corp, up 2 percent, was the top contributor, while Metropolitan Bank And Trust Co added 3.7 percent. Thai shares ended 0.2 percent higher, with the index extending gains to a fifth straight week.
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Sri Lankan shares up for second session
Sri Lankan shares rose for the second straight session on Friday as foreign investors picked up shares that had been battered in recent days, brokers said.
Sri Lanka’s central bank left its key policy rates unchanged as expected on Friday before the market opened, and said the decision backed its goals for stabilising inflation and fostering sustainable economic growth.
The Colombo stock index ended 0.12 percent firmer at 6,143.90. The index began the week by marking its lowest close since July 12 and fell 0.16 percent during the week, recording its second weekly decline. It is down 3.5 percent so far this year. Turnover stood at 150.5 million rupees ($942,391.98), well below this year’s daily average of 844 million rupees. Shares of Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc ended 0.5 percent up, while Melstacorp Ltd rose 6.03 percent, Dialog Axiata Plc closed 2.1 percent firmer and biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc gained 1.5 percent.
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Indian shares close 1pc higher
Indian shares ended 1 percent higher on Friday, reversing two sessions of losses, on gains in financial and consumer stocks, buoyed by a favourable weather forecast for the remainder of the monsoon.
The benchmark BSE index closed up 1.05 percent at 37,556.16 after losing close to 500 points in the last two sessions. For the week, the index ended 0.6 percent higher. The broader NSE index ended 1.03 percent higher at 11,360.8, and gained 0.73 percent for the week. It had lost nearly 1 percent in the previous two sessions.
Index heavyweight Housing Development Finance Corp closed up 2.5 percent, after raising its retail prime lending rate by 20 basis points a day earlier. It had shed 4.8 percent in the previous three sessions. Consumer major ITC Ltd ended 1.6 percent higher.