Policy rate, tariff concerns pull KSE-100 down
The Stock Market once again turned bearish on Friday as investors were concerned about the monetary policy announcement later in the day by the State Bank of Pakistan. The central bank left the benchmark policy rate unchanged at 7 percent for the next two months. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 116.42 points, or 0.25 percent, to settle at 45,868.04 points. The KSE-100 index recorded across-the-board selling on concern over the monetary policy decision, which was announced in the last hour of trading, and redemption from mutual funds. Overall, trading volumes fell to 430.6 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 606.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.8 billion. Shares of 391 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 142 stocks closed higher, 232 declined and 17 remained unchanged. K-Electric was the volume leader with 54.1 million shares, losing Rs0.14 to close at Rs4.11.
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1990: Sensex crosses 1,000 points. now it’s over 50,000. see the journey
The BSE benchmark index, S&P BSE Sensex, crossed the 50,000-mark for the time on Thursday on the back of stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, hopes of bold economic reforms in the upcoming budget amid sustained foreign inflows in equity markets. Foreign investors pumped more than $20 billion into Indian equities in December alone. In calendar year 2020, FIIs bought Indian shares worth – 1.70 lakh crore, data from National Securities Depository Limited showed. In the year 1990, Sensex crossed 1,000 mark and on Thursday it moved above 50,000 for the first time. The Sensex’s journey to record high has not been a one-way street – the BSE benchmark has seen scams by Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parekh and Satyam scam and at the same time, been a witness to India’s economic reforms. More recently, in March last year, the Sensex slumped to multi-year lows of 25,638.90 after the government a imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
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Opening bell: NIKKEI 225, CAC 40, FTSE 100, DAX index darts higher
The Nikkei 225 index is soaring today as part of the overall rally of global stocks. The index is trading at ¥28,756, which is a few points below the year-to-date high of ¥29.025. Similarly, other global indices like the Dow Jones, DAX index, Hang Seng, and FTSE 100 are pointing higher. The Nikkei 225 index is rising as investors increase their expectations for a new large stimulus package in the United States. With economic numbers from the country disappointing, the new administration will be under pressure to deliver a bigger package as Yellen proposed. This will be a good thing for companies in the Nikkei 225 that do a lot of business in the country. The Nikkei index is also rising after the Bank of Japan delivered its interest rate decision today. The bank left interest rates and other policy frameworks unchanged. They also lowered the outlook for the year because of the ongoing state of emergency.
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Saudi stock exchange main index ends trading lower, at 8,876.49 points
Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading lower here today, losing 1.81 points to close, at 8,876.49 points. The total value of the trading reported was 5.7 billion, while the toll of shares traded was more than 180 million, divided into over 255,000 deals.
The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day losing 233.86 points, to close, at 26,045.62 points, with a valuation of more than SR19 million and an overall tally of more than 160,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 693 deals.
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FTSE 100 ends in the red as wall street struggles
The FTSE 100 closed Friday down 20 points, 0.3 percent, at 6,695. The FTSE 250 dropped 197 points, nearly 1 percent, to 20,597, Equity benchmarks are set to finish lower as fears of stricter or extended lockdowns are dictating sentiment. It is a broad based sell off, as fears that England’s lockdown might last until summer has impacted most sectors. There are concerns the EU might shut internal borders and there has been chatter the bloc might ban travellers from the UK. Travel stocks suffered as a result, and both easJet plc and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA lost more than 3 percent. That said, the FTSE 100 as a whole showed only moderate losses. The FTSE 100’s losses have been cushioned to a certain extent by the weakness in sterling. Constituents of the index that earn relatively large revenue streams from overseas, like Ashtead, Unilever, Imperial Brands and AstraZeneca are showing small gains. In the US, Wall Street recovered slightly from big early morning losses, but the Dow was still down 111 points, 0.4 percent, at midday. The Nasdaq lost 19 points, 0.1 percent, to 13,512, and the S&P ticked down 7 points, 0.2 percent, to 3,846. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 have pulled back from yesterday’s record highs as traders are content to trim their exposure to stocks following the recent bullish run. US equities have registered impressive gains lately on the back of hopes for President Biden’s spending plans but the mood has mellowed a little.
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Bull trend confirmed, Nasdaq composite gaps to record highs
U.S. stocks are mixed early Thursday, largely treading water amid otherwise constructive January price action. Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are digesting respectable bull-flag breakouts, their latest rallies to all-time highs. Before detailing the U.S. markets’ wider view, the S&P 500’s US:SPX hourly chart highlights the past two weeks. As illustrated, the S&P has cleared its range top, reaching all-time highs. The upturn punctuates a bull flag, the relatively orderly eight-session range. Tactically, the breakout point (3,826) is closely followed by the top of the gap (3,816). Delving deeper, the prevailing upturn originates from near-term support (3,764) and the 20-day moving average.