STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
Pakistan stocks extend losses over weak economic outlook
The KSE-100 index extended its losses on Friday and shed 171 points as investors were wary of the conditions in the new IMF loan programme. Weak investor sentiments coupled with expectations of a tough IMF bailout pushed the market to trade below the 35,000-point level throughout the day.
The bearish activity was also caused by economic uncertainty after the National Accounts Committee anticipated a sharp slowdown in economic growth to 3.3percent in FY19
– the slowest pace in the past nine years. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 171.11 points, or 0.49 percent, to settle at 34,716.53. Overall, trading volumes decreased to 39.3 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 78.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.75 billion.
Shares of 288 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 77 stocks closed higher, 189 declined and 22 remained unchanged. K-Electric was the volume leader with 4.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs4.22. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 2.7 million shares, losing Rs0.89 to close at Rs24.29 and The Searle Company with 1.9 million shares, losing Rs7.44 to close at Rs141.39.
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US S&P index edges higher
The S&P 500 erased early losses to edge higher on Friday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said trade talks between the United States and China were “constructive,” but the index remained on track for its biggest weekly percentage loss since December.
The benchmark stock index had dropped as much as 1.6% but rebounded from its session lows after Mnuchin’s comments. Earlier, stocks had slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was in “no hurry” to sign a deal as higher tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods went into effect.
US stocks have been roiled this week as the White House has imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Recent developments in US-China trade talks have led investors to brace for an extension and a potential escalation of the trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies. That in turn has stoked fears of a global economic slowdown, prompting a flight to low-risk assets such as government bonds. As a result, the S&P 500 has fallen 2.5% for the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.72 points, or 0.22%, to 25,884.08, the S&P 500 gained 4.1 points, or 0.14%, to 2,874.82 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 8.10 points, or 0.1%, to 7,902.49.
Uber Technologies Inc shares dropped 2.8% after having opened below their initial public offering price in the ride-hailing company’s long-awaited market debut.
Symantec Corp shares plunged 12.1% after the antivirus software maker issued a profit warning and unexpectedly announced its chief executive officer would step down.
Chipmakers, which draw much of their revenue from China, edged lower to extend their decline. The Philadelphia semiconductor index has fallen more than 6% this week.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.28-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.10-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 100 new lows.
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India Sensex ends down by 95 points
The Indian equities ended lower in choppy trade for the eighth straight session on Friday, tracking weak cues from Asian peers. Out of 30 stocks, 22 closed in the red on Sensex and 34 out of 50 ended in negative terrain on the NSE Nifty. On the global front, Asian stocks were trading marginally lower, following negative closing at Wall Street in overnight trade as investors weighed US President Donald Trump’s decision to increase 25 per cent traffic on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods. On the sectoral front, top declining index was Metal index, that closed at 10701.18, down by 167.35 points or by 1.54percent, followed by BSE IT index which closed at 15502.46 down by 177.17 points or by 1.13percent.
The top gaining indices was BSE CDS index, ending at 23312.86, up by 346.76 points or by 1.51percent, followed by BSE Bankex index, that closed at 32385.11 up by 137.68 points or by 0.43percent. The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE out of total shares traded 2869 , shares advanced were 1309 while 1366 shares declined and 194 were unchanged. Sensex is trading down by 95 points at 37,462 level and Nifty is trading down by 22 points at 11,278.
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Japan stocks lower; Nikkei 225 down 0.27pc
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Transportation Equipment and Marine Transport sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.27percent to hit a new 1-month low.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Shimizu Corp, which rose 8.16 percent or 74.0 points to trade at 981.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. added 8.11 percent or 140.0 points to end at 1865.5 and Furukawa Co., Ltd. was up 6.67 percent or 90.0 points to 1439.0 in late trade. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1760 to 1738 and 209 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 5.67 percent to 16.76.
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France stocks move higher
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gas & Water, General Financial and Foods & Drugs sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.27percent, while the SBF 120 index added 0.25percent. The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were EssilorLuxottica SA, which rose 3.96percent or 4.20 points to trade at 110.20 at the close.
Meanwhile, Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA added 2.37percent or 2.55 points to end at 109.95 and Capgemini SE was up 2.05percent or 2.10 points to 104.40 in late trade. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 307 to 250 and 105 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 9.45percent to 17.04.
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Germany stocks surge
Germany stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Chemicals, Industrials and Media sectors led shares higher. At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.72percent, while the MDAX index climbed 1.05percent, and the TecDAX index added 0.87percent. The best performers of the session on the DAX were Thyssenkrupp AG O.N., which rose 28.35percent or 3.185 points to trade at 14.420 at the close.
Meanwhile, Linde PLC added 4.13percent or 6.300 points to end at 159.000 and RWE AG ST O.N. was up 1.65percent or 0.360 points to 22.150 in late trade. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 410 to 297 and 71 ended unchanged. The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 7.85percent to 18.44.
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Exporters lead FTSE 100 lower
London’s main stock index closed lower on Friday, capping its worst week in more than five months, with exporters following the US dollar lower as hopes for a resolution to the US-China trade dispute stoked appetite for riskier assets.
The FTSE 100, which is heavy with dollar-earners, inched 0.1percent lower at the end of its worst week since early December, as a drop in drugmaker AstraZeneca also dragged. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 rose 0.4percent, however, after data showed British economic growth accelerated in the first quarter. Investors bought into equities for most of the session as they hoped Washington and Beijing would be able to settle their trade spat, even after higher US tariffs on Chinese goods took effect on Friday.