STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
US all three major indexes at record highs
All three major indexes posted record closing highs on Friday as firm expectations for an interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve continued to propel shares while investors awaited next week’s kickoff of the corporate earnings season.
The S&P 500 closed above the 3,000 level for the first time, with the industrial, consumer discretionary and materials sectors each posting gains of at least 1%.
In his two-day testimony before Congress, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy was still under threat from disappointing factory activity, tame inflation and a simmering trade war and that the central bank stood ready to “act as appropriate.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 243.95 points, or 0.9%, to 27,332.03, the S&P 500 gained 13.86 points, or 0.46%, to 3,013.77 and the Nasdaq Composite added 48.10 points, or 0.59%, to 8,244.14.
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Dow added 1.5% and the Nasdaq gained 1%.
Volume on US exchanges was 5.68 billion shares, compared to the 6.71 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
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Pakistan index loses 203 points over policy rate uncertainty
The stock market experienced yet another lacklustre trading session on Friday and fell 203 points due to absence of major triggers that could drive the market. Announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that it would unveil the monetary policy next week kept investors at bay.
The benchmark KSE-100 index opened upwards but remained flat in first half of the trading session. However, the announcement of monetary policy date and expectations for further increase in the key interest rate sparked sell-off in the second session, which dragged the index below 33,700 points. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 202.91 points, or 0.6percent, to settle at 33,672.49. Overall, the index moved in the range of +126 points and -276 points, ending the second session down by 193 points (unadjusted). The cement sector led the volumes with trading in 9.6 million shares, followed by the power sector (7.8 million). K-Electric ranked first in terms of volumes with trading in 6.9 million shares, followed by Maple Leaf Cement (4.5 million).
Overall, trading volumes increased to 55.5 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 39.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.3 billion. Shares of 304 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 62 stocks closed higher, 218 declined and 24 remained unchanged. K-Electric was the volume leader with 6.9 million shares, losing Rs0.09 to close at Rs4. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 4.5 million shares, losing Rs1.14 to close at Rs22.12 and The Bank of Punjab XD with 3.9 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs8.79.
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India Sensex ends lower, Nifty fails to hold 11,600
Benchmark indices reversed some previous day’s gains on July 12 as traders turned cautious ahead of Infosys’ earnings and economic data.
The BSE Sensex was down 86.88 points at 38,736.23 and the Nifty50 fell 35.20 points to 11,547.70. The broader markets outperformed frontliners with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.46 percent and 0.33 percent respectively. Benchmark Indices slipped past day’s high and were trading in the red. Sensex was down 68.13 points or 0.18 percent at 38,754.98, and the Nifty was down 23.90 points or 0.21 percent at 11,559.00. About 1104 shares have advanced, 1230 shares have declined, and 121 shares are unchanged. Vedanta, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma are among the top earners, while ONGC, Coal India and Wipro were the biggest losers. On the sectoral front, all but four sectors were trading in the green. Pvt bank stocks were the biggest losers, down 0.37 percent on the Nifty. Metal stocks were the biggest winners, up 0.70 percent
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Japan stocks higher; Nikkei 225 up 0.51pc
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus and Real Estate sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.51percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2508 to 1007 and 207 ended unchanged. Shares in Suzuki Motor Corp. fell to 52-week lows; losing 2.82percent or 133.0 to 4590.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00percent to 14.63. Crude oil for August delivery was up 0.38percent or 0.23 to $60.66 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in September rose 0.30percent or 0.20 to hit $67.21 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract rose 0.77percent or 10.85 to trade at $1423.35 a troy ounce.
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France stocks keep moving up
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 gained 0.38percent, while the SBF 120 index added 0.42percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 332 to 217 and 101 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was up 4.96 percent to 12.30. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.44 percent or 6.25 to $1412.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.42 percent or 0.25 to hit $60.45 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.51 percent or 0.34 to trade at $66.86 a barrel.
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Germany stocks mixed; DAX down 0.07pc
Germany stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Chemicals, Construction and Industrials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare and Software sectors led shares lower. At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX declined 0.07percent, while the MDAX index climbed 0.22 percent, and the TecDAX index declined 0.49percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 330 to 322 and 105 ended unchanged. Shares in Medigene NA O.N. fell to 3-years lows; down 2.48 percent or 0.160 to 6.300. The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was up 0.22 percent to 13.79. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.42percent or 5.85 to $1412.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.27 percent or 0.16 to hit $60.36 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.44percent or 0.29 to trade at $66.81 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.13percent to 1.1266, while EUR/GBP fell 0.22 percent to 0.8967. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.20 percent at 96.475.