Nasdaq futures dip as coronavirus infects America’s tech heartland
The NASDAQ index dipped 279 points on Thursday to close at 8,739. This is the latest move in a week of highly-volatile trading as the market comes to terms with the expanding coronavirus crisis. Nasdaq futures point to a weaker open on Friday with prices down around 0.90 percent in early morning trading. The NASDAQ index is especially vulnerable to the coronavirus crisis. Many of its biggest components have extensive supply chains and operations in China
— the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. As if that isn’t bad enough, the coronavirus has followed these companies to their home turf with a major disease outbreak cropping up in Washington State where many of them are headquartered.
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Dow tumbles nearly 1,000 points again
US stocks had another extremely volatile day on Thursday, as investors couldn’t seem to make up their minds about the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak. The Dow (INDU) closed down 970 points, or 3.6 percent, marking its fifth-worst single-day point drop on record. The index was down nearly 1,148 points at its lowest point. Thursday’s close comes after the Dow had two 1,000-point gains and an 800-point loss earlier this week. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 3.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) closed down 3.1 percent. All three indexes dropped into correction territory last week, having fallen more than 10 percent below their peaks. After bouncing up and down throughout Thursday, the stock benchmarks finished more than 10 percent below their highs.
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KSE-100 rebounds on hopes of policy rate cut
After two sessions of bearish trade, Pakistan bourse turned bullish on Thursday as investors cheered falling bond yields and speculated that the central bank would slash the policy rate in its monetary policy announcement later this month. In the auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), which took place on Wednesday, yields of three, five and 10-year papers fell, which led investors to pin hopes on an interest rate cut by the central bank in March. Trading volumes and value soared as market participants resorted to across-the-board share trading. Earlier, trading began with a spike and stocks rallied in a buying spree. Some of the gains were, however, erased after midday. Nevertheless, the index closed with handsome gains. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 475.71 points, or 1.22 percent, to settle at 39,382.11. Overall volumes stood at 341 million shares while traded value came in at $86 million. Overall, trading volumes increased to 340.7 million shares compared with Wednesday
’s tally of 187 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs13.3 billion. Shares of 370 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 253 stocks closed higher, 102 declined and 15 remained unchanged. Fauji Cement was the volume leader with 30 million shares, gaining Rs1.13 to close at Rs17.88.
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Sensex tanks 800 points; virus spreads
Domestic stock markets suffered sharp losses in early trade on Friday amid a selloff across the world as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic stoked fears of recession. RBI’s action of seizing control of the beleaguered Yes Bank and possible ramifications on the financial system also dented sentiments on Dalal Street. The S&P BSE Sensex index nosedived as much as 1459.52 points to hit 37,011.09 on the downside in the first few minutes of trade, and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark dropped to a low of 10,827.40, down 441.60 points from the previous close. A selloff across sectors along with panic selling in the broader markets hurt investor sentiment, say analysts.
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Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 3.34pc
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus and Real Estate sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 3.34 percent to hit a new 3-months low. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 3638 to 128 and 45 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00 percent to 18.91. Crude oil for April delivery was up 0.80 percent or 0.41 to $51.84 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in May rose 0.88 percent or 0.49 to hit $56.26 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 1.95 percent or 32.75 to trade at $1643.85 a troy ounce. USD/JPY was up 0.01 percent to 110.72, while EUR/JPY fell 0.02 percent to 120.11. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06 percent at 99.227.
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France stocks lower at close of trade; CAC 40 down 1.90pc
France stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares lower. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 declined 1.90 percent, while the SBF 120 index fell 1.97 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 463 to 128 and 63 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was up 10.90 percent to 31.44. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.53 percent or 25.15 to $1668.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 1.18 percent or 0.55 to hit $46.23 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 1.41 percent or 0.72 to trade at $50.41 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.73 percent to 1.1215, while EUR/GBP raised 0.21 percent to 0.8667. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.63 percent at 96.698.