STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
Pakistan stocks edge down 28 points over FATF decision
As investors braced for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) verdict on Friday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index inched down 28 points due to speculation over the outcome. The FATF decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list after Islamabad could not fully implement the 27-point action plan, providing the country another four months to complete the remaining actions. However, Pakistan staved off the threat of being placed on the FATF blacklist. At this point, investors began cherry-picking and the first session ended with a gain of 124 points. The second session erased all the gains and the index fell into the negative territory.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 28.41 points, or 0.08percent, to settle at 33,870.15. Overall, trading volumes decreased to 115.2 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 138 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion. Shares of 368 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 136 stocks closed higher, 207 declined and 24 remained unchanged. Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 18.4 million shares, losing Rs0.48 to close at Rs16.13.
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US stocks decline
Wall Street fell on Friday as negative headlines about Johnson & Johnson and Boeing, along with bleak economic data from China, soured investor risk appetite and offset generally positive corporate earnings.
All three major US stock averages ended the session in the red, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted weekly gains. The blue-chip Dow was nominally lower than last week’s close.
Boeing Co and Johnson & Johnson shares led both the S&P 500’s and the Dow’s declines. Boeing dropped 6.8% after Reuters reported that text messages between two employees suggested the planemaker misled the Federal Aviation Administration about the safety of the grounded 737 MAX aircraft.
Johnson & Johnson announced it would recall baby powder in the United States after regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in a sample, sending its shares falling 6.2%.
Growth of China’s gross domestic product slowed to its weakest pace in nearly 30 years as the bruising trade war with the United States took its toll, stoking fears of slowdown contagion.
The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for global growth this year to 3%, which would mark the slowest expansion since the financial crisis.
Third-quarter earnings season has hit full stride, with 73 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 83.6% have come in above average estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
Still, analysts currently see S&P 500 earnings dropping by 3.1% compared with last year, which would mark the first contraction since the earnings recession that ended mid-2016.
American Express Co reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit as consumers boosted their spending. Still, the credit card issuer’s shares dipped 2.0%.
Coca-Cola Co’s revenue beat expectations and an upbeat forecast gave its shares a 1.8% boost.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255.68 points, or 0.95%, to 26,770.2, the S&P 500 lost 11.75 points, or 0.39%, to 2,986.2 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 67.31 points, or 0.83%, to 8,089.54.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.41-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 51 new highs and 59 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 6.24 billion shares, compared with the 6.55 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
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France stocks end lower
France stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares lower. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.65 percent, while the SBF 120 index fell 0.59 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 318 to 223 and 101 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was up 9.81 percent to 15.77. EUR/USD was up 0.32 percent to 1.1158, while EUR/GBP rose 0.03 percent to 0.8629.
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Japan stocks higher as Nikkei his new 6-month peak
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus and Real Estate sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.18 percent to hit a new 6-months high.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1816 to 1680 and 251 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00 percent to 15.45 a new 1-month low. Crude oil for November delivery was up 0.09percent or 0.05 to $53.98 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in December fell 0.35 percent or 0.21 to hit $59.70 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.42 percent or 6.25 to trade at $1492.05 a troy ounce.
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India’s indices gain for 6th straight day
Extending their gaining streak into the sixth straight session, benchmark indices ended with over half a percent gains on Friday even as global peers tumbled after China’s GDP growth slipped to a 27-year low of 6 percent. Industry heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank, TCS, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) helped benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settle at 39,298 levels, up 246 points or 0.63 percent. The 30-share index hit an intra-day and low of 39,361 and 38,964, respectively. On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index gained 75.50 points or 0.65 percent to close at 11,662 levels. On a weekly basis, both Sensex and Nifty ended with 3 percent gains.