US stocks end 3-day run of losses
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a three-day run of losses on Friday as optimism about the prospects for a US-China trade agreement countered downbeat US and China manufacturing data.
The Nasdaq meanwhile marked its longest streak of weekly gains since late 1999.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110.32 points, or 0.43 percent, to 26,026.32, the S&P 500 gained 19.2 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,803.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 62.82 points, or 0.83 percent, to 7,595.35.
Friday marked the first close above 2,800 for the S&P since Nov. 8. Nate Thooft, global head of asset allocation for Manulife Asset Management in Boston said technical investors would see a close above that level “as a good omen.”
The index closed 4.2 percent under its September record closing high. It has risen 11.8 percent so far this year, bolstered by trade hopes and the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on interest rates.
For the week, the S&P rose 0.4 percent while the Dow fell 0.02 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.9 percent.
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KSE-100 rises 484 points as Pakistan-India tensions ease
The KSE-100 index extended its gains on Friday and rose close to 500 points as optimism prevailed at the bourse following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement to return an Indian Air Force pilot as a “gesture of peace”.
The index spiked from the moment trading began and maintained the uptrend as well as recovered from occasional dips to finish the first session of the day near 39,500 points. Overall, trading volumes decreased to 137.2 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 159.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.38 billion. Shares of 344 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 241 stocks closed higher, 83 declined and 20 remained unchanged. The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 8.84 million shares, gaining Rs0.1 to close at Rs12.79. It was followed by Oil and Gas Development Company with 5.6 million shares, gaining Rs4.09 to close at Rs153.25 and K-Electric with 5.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs6.09.
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China stocks climb on MSCI decision
China stocks rose on Friday after index publisher MSCI said it would boost the proportion of Chinese mainland shares in its global benchmarks, though soft factory activity data curbed further gains. The CSI300 index was up 0.5 percent at 3,685.73 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 2,945.05 points. Global index provider MSCI is quadrupling the weightage of Chinese mainland shares in its global benchmarks later this year, a move it said might draw more than $80 billion of fresh foreign inflows to the world’s second-biggest economy.
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Britain’s top share index surge
FTSE 100 closed Friday higher joining other global markets in going higher as optimism appears to have returned – at least for now. Footsie closed the day 32 points up, or 0.45 percent at 7,106. On the week as a whole, the premier index was lower though, shedding around 1 percent. FTSE 250 also did well on the day – surging more than 218 points at 19,399. In Europe, the German DAX added around 86 to 11,601 and the French CAC 40 gained over 24.
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Japanese stocks higher
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Precision Instruments, Chemical and Retail sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.02percent to hit a new 1-month high. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd, which rose 6.08 percent or 167.0 points to trade at 2914.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. added 4.39 percent or 32.0 points to end at 761.0 and Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. was up 4.29 percent or 94.0 points to 2286.0 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., which fell 2.86percent or 45.0 points to trade at 1527.0 at the close.
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India’s Sensex rebounds, posts 2nd weekly gains
Market benchmark Sensex Friday rose over 196 points to end at 36,064 and also posted its second straight weekly gains amid signs of easing tensions between India and Pakistan. The key BSE index also snapped its three-session losing run after the March derivatives series got off to a strong start coupled with uninterrupted foreign fund inflows. The 30-share Sensex opened positive and rallied to the session’s high of 36,140.67 on widespread buying by participants. However, profit-booking in select counters trimmed the gains as the gauge settled 196.37 points, or 0.55 percent, higher at 36,063.81. It had lost over 346 points in the previous three sessions due to geo-political tensions between India and Pakistan. For the week, the BSE Sensex rose 192.33 points, or 0.57 percent, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 71.35 points, or 0.69 percent. This was the second straight weekly gains for the index.
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France stocks move higher
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Financials and Industrials sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.47 percent to hit a new 3-months high, while the SBF 120 index climbed 0.60 percent.
The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Valeo SA, which rose 4.18 percent or 1.16 points to trade at 28.91 at the close. Meanwhile, Kering SA added 3.21 percent or 15.40 points to end at 495.50 and STMicroelectronics NV was up 2.26 percent or 0.325 points to 14.695 in late trade.
The top performers on the SBF 120 were Air France KLM SA which rose 5.44percent to 11.445, Faurecia, which was up 5.10percent to settle at 44.08 and Teleperformance SE which gained 5.10 percent to close at 165.00. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 7.25percent to 12.66 a new 3-months low.