Japan stocks higher at end of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.34pc
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 rose 0.34 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2139 to 1383 and 255 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00 percent to 17.04. Crude oil for April delivery was up 0.62 percent or 0.33 to $53.82 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.30 percent or 0.18 to hit $59.30 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.15 percent or 2.35 to trade at $1609.45 a troy ounce.
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The S&P 500 just passed its highest valuation level in almost 18-year
Market valuations continue to get richer as the bull run nears its 11-year anniversary, with one measure at its highest point in nearly 18 years. As of Wednesday, the S&P 500 traded at 19 times 12-month forward earnings, the highest the P/E level has been since May 23, 2002, according to FactSet calculations released Friday. While that is high compared to historical averages, it still sits below the 20-year peak of 24.4 set on March 24, 2000, just before the dotcom bubble burst. The number is well above its most recent trends. The current P/E level has eclipsed the five-year (16.7), 10-year (14.9), 15-year (14.6) and 20-year (15.5) averages, FactSet reported. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors have valuations higher than their 20-year averages. The only group below is energy, while real estate was only recently carved out as a sector so it does not have that long a history. The jump in valuation has come as the large-cap index recently eclipsed a 400 percent gain since its March 2009 low as the financial crisis was coming to a close.
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KSE-100 dips more as selling pressure weighs on sentiment
The Benchmark KSE-100 index continued to lose ground for the second consecutive session on Friday in the wake of foreign fund outflows and rising concern over economic uncertainty. Moreover, the announcement of financial results in the fertiliser, oil and banking sectors sparked worries and panic selling by investors. Some stocks came under pressure as the market kept waiting for the official version of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) plenary session. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 232.43 points, or 0.57 percent, to settle at 40,249.22. Traded value stood very low at $23 million, down 24 percent and volumes came in at 86 million shares, down 24 percent. Overall, trading volumes declined to 85.6 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 112.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.6 billion. Shares of 326 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 131 stocks closed higher, 172 declined and 23 remained unchanged. Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 8.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.30 to close at Rs23.67.
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France stocks lower at end of trade; CAC 40 down 0.54pc
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 lost 0.54 percent, while the SBF 120 index fell 0.50 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 354 to 200 and 103 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was up 20.40 percent to 15.49. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.64 percent or 26.65 to $1647.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 0.80 percent or 0.43 to hit $53.45 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 1.40 percent or 0.83 to trade at $58.48 a barrel.
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Germany stocks lower at end of trade; DAX down 0.62pc
Germany stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Food & Beverages, Technology and Transportation & Logistics sectors led shares lower. At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 0.62 percent, while the MDAX index fell 0.66 percent, and the TecDAX index lost 0.83 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 445 to 231 and 71 ended unchanged. The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was up 8.85 percent to 17.10. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.71 percent or 27.65 to $1648.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 0.80 percent or 0.43 to hit $53.45 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 1.45 percent or 0.86 to trade at $58.45 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.71 percent to 1.0859, while EUR/GBP rose 0.01 percent to 0.8370. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.61 percent at 99.172.
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SENSEX down 153 points; Nifty closes below 12,100
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 153 points or 0.37 percent to settle at 41,170, with Asian Paints (down over 2 percent) being the top loser and IndusInd Bank (up to over 3.5 percent) the biggest gainer. NSE’s Nifty50 index ended the session at 12,081, down 45 points or 0.37 percent. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index added 62.5 points or 0.4 percent to 15,694 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rallied 0.5 percent to settle at 14,747. On the sectoral front, IT stocks bled the most, followed by FMCG and media counters. On the other hand, PSU bank stocks advanced the most. The Nifty PSU Bank index climbed 1 percent to 2,169 levels. Markets will remain shut on Friday on account of Mahashivratri. Asian stocks slipped and so did the region’s currencies on Thursday, as virus cases rose in South Korea and Japan and investors quit local assets in favour of safety further afield. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.3 percent, led by drops on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI.