STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
Pakistan stocks end last session of fiscal year on a positive note
Despite wild fluctuations, the stock market closed its last trading session of the current financial year in the green, buoyed by a smart recovery of the rupee. In the morning, the KSE-100 index opened on a negative note and dropped over 360 points in intra-day trading before the market paused for midday break. However, the rupee’s significant gains against the US dollar helped the index recover the losses made in the first half.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 127.15 points, or 0.38percent, to settle at 33,901.58. Overall, trading volumes increased to 213.9 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 135 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.3 billion. Shares of 338 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 204 stocks closed higher, 109 declined and 25 remained unchanged. Silkbank was the volume leader with 38.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.20 to close at Rs1.18. It was followed by K-Electric with 21.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.20 to close at Rs4.39 and The Bank of Punjab XD with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs9.15. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs146.7 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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US stocks set for best June in decades as G20 convenes
Wall Street advanced on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow on track for their best June in generations, ahead of the much-anticipated trade talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit now underway in Japan.
All three major US stock indexes were higher near the close of the week, month, quarter and first half of the year, during which the U.S. stock market has had a remarkable run.
The S&P 500 was poised to have its best June since 1955. The Dow was on track for its best June since 1938. From the start of 2019, after investors fled equities amid fears of a global economic slowdown and sending stock markets tumbling in December, the benchmark S&P 500 is up 17%, its largest first-half increase since 1997.
Financial stocks led the gains in the S&P 500 and the Dow after the big US banks passed Federal Reserve’s “stress test,” with the central bank giving the companies a clean bill of health. The S&P 500 Bank index was up 2.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.08 points, or 0.21%, to 26,582.66, the S&P 500 gained 10.38 points, or 0.35%, to 2,935.3 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.69 points, or 0.22%, to 7,985.45.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.97-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.72-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 64 new highs and 34 new lows.
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FTSE 100 steadies as Sino-US talks in focus
Britain’s main index was relatively unchanged on Friday as investors waited for a crucial Sino-U.S. meeting this weekend, while Madame Tussauds owner Merlin surged after a buyout offer.
The FTSE 100 was roughly flat, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.4percent by 0710 GMT. Uncertainty over whether any signs of progress towards a resolution of Washington and Beijing’s trade war would emerge kept activity among most major sectors muted in early dealings. Legoland operator Merlin Entertainments jumped 14.2percent to 451 pence on the mid-cap index after agreeing to be acquired by the investment vehicle of Lego’s founding family and Blackstone in a 455 pence a share deal.
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India Sensex slumps 192 ponts, Nifty below 11,800
Benchmark indices erased their early gains to close Friday’s session lower, dragged down by metal stocks. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 192 points, or 0.48 percent, lower, with YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, and ONGC the top losers. The broader Nifty50 index slipped 53 points, or 0.45 percent, to 11,789.
The market breadth remained in favour of sellers. About 919 stocks declined and 822 advanced on the NSE. On a weekly basis, however, the indices gained with the Sensex closing 0.5 percent higher and the Nifty climbing 0.6 percent. Among Nifty sectoral indices, only three closed the day in the green. Nifty Metal, down 1.1 percent, took the deepest cuts while the Nifty Private Bank index dipped 0.6 percent. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index settled 45 points, or 0.3 percent, lower at 14,808, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index lost 10 points, or 0.07 percent, to 14,239.
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Tokyo’s Nikkei index slightly lower, traders eye G20
Tokyo’s leading Nikkei stocks index marginally lower on Tuesday after a quiet Wall Street session with all eyes on a highly anticipated US-China meeting at the Group of 20 summit later this week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.03 percent or 5.44 points at 21,280.55 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.12 percent or 1.89 points at 1,549.63. “With no fresh factor to nudge investors to buy during US trading… the Japanese market is seen having a weak appetite in early trade,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. Dealers were in a wait-and-see mood ahead of the US-China summit meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit starting later this week in Osaka, analysts said. The dollar fetched 107.38 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.29 yen in New York late Monday. In Tokyo, Nissan was down 0.49 percent at 762.7 yen as it holds a general shareholder meeting that will see votes on a series of reforms to the crisis-hit Japanese car giant. Its rival Toyota was down 0.46 percent at 6,662 yen and Honda was down 0.65 percent at 2,767.6 yen. Market heavyweight and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was down 0.43 percent at 66,220.0 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up less than 0.1 percent at 26,727.54.
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France stocks higher at close of trade; CAC 40 up 0.83pc
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.83percent to hit a new 1-month high, while the SBF 120 index gained 0.84percent.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 385 to 191 and 90 ended unchanged.
The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 1.77percent to 13.84. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.03percent or 0.45 to $1412.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 0.25percent or 0.15 to hit $59.28 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 0.14percent or 0.09 to trade at $65.58 a barrel. EUR/USD was down 0.10percent to 1.1357, while EUR/GBP fell 0.23percent to 0.8946. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.06percent at 95.803.