Saudi Arabia stocks higher
Saudi Arabia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Real Estate Development, Energy & Utilities and Telecoms & IT sectors led shares higher. At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share gained 0.03 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 163 to 101 and 13 ended unchanged. Shares in Al ELM Information Security Company CJSC rose to all time highs; gaining 5.27 percent or 34.60 to 691.00. Shares in Arabian Contracting Services Company CJSC rose to all time highs; gaining 3.07 percent or 5.80 to 195.00. Crude oil for September delivery was up 0.94 percent or 0.71 to $76.00 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in September rose 0.82 percent or 0.65 to hit $80.11 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract fell 0.36 percent or 7.15 to trade at $1,973.65 a troy ounce.
Hong Kong shares open on back foot
Hong Kong stocks edged slightly lower in opening trade Friday following losses on Wall Street and with investors fretting over the outlook for China’s economy. The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.05 percent, or 9.32 points, to 18,918.70. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.19 percent, or 6.10 points, to 3,163.42, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange lost 0.18 percent, or 3.68 points, to 2,011.97.
European share markets mixed at open
European stock markets opened mixed Friday, mirroring Asia’s performance, as traders weigh the outlooks for earnings and interest rates. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 percent to 7,655.66 points. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX index dropped 0.5 percent to 16,121.16 points and the Paris CAC 40 edged up 0.1 percent to 7,393.55.
Japan’s Nikkei slides for 2nd day as chip rout accelerates
Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Friday, as the tumble in chip-related shares accelerated tracking a sell-off in US peers. Domestic semiconductor industry giants, Tokyo Electron and Advantest, each plunged more than 5 percent in the morning session to shave 180 index points from the Nikkei between them. The Nikkei slipped 0.22 percent – or a net 73 points – to 32,417.92 as of the midday recess. By contrast, the broader Topix, which has a lower concentration of tech shares, added 0.26. Chip component maker Screen Holdings and chip maker Renesas Electronics tumbled along with their bigger peers, losing more than 3 percent each. That followed a 3.6 percent drop in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index overnight, its worst day this year. However, Daiwa Securities strategist Kenji Abe said he continues to prefer growth- over value stocks over the medium term.
Australian shares fall
Australian shares edged lower on Friday, with gold and technology stocks posting the biggest intra-day losses, as higher June employment data raised expectations of an interest rate hike by the country’s central bank next month. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4 percent to 7,298.40 by 0034 GMT. The benchmark ended flat in the previous session. Data on Thursday showed that employment in Australia beat expectations for a second straight month in June, rising by 32,600 from May, when it had surged by a disproportionately strong 76,600. A gauge of global equities slid overnight after data once again highlighted persistent US labor market strength, suggesting the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer to curb inflation. In Sydney, gold stocks slid as much as 3.7 percent to record their biggest intraday fall since May 12 as bullion prices slipped from a two-month high overnight. The sub-index has shed 6.4 percent this week and is set to lodge its worst week since Sept. 16, 2022.
Sensex dives over 600 points
Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply in opening deals on Friday, taking cues from the global markets. The domestic indices halted their 6-day winning run on Friday, dragged by technology and consumer stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack fell 636 points or 0.94 percent to trade at 66,936, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 159 points or 0.79 percent down to trade at 19,821. Mid- and small-cap shares were mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.29 percent and small-cap rose 0.29 percent. Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, fell by Rs 1.54 lakh crore to Rs 302.50 lakh crore on Friday compared with a valuation of Rs 304.04 lakh crore recorded in the previous session. On the global front, Asian equities declined, following weakness in Wall Street overnight. Back home, IT stocks were in focus on Friday after Infosys halved its full-year revenue growth outlook, citing cuts in tech spending.
FTSE 100 lifted by Anglo American
Britain’s blue-chip index hit a fresh one-month high on Thursday as strong production numbers from Anglo American and hopes of fresh stimulus for China’s slowing economy boosted mining stocks. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.8 percent, extending gains for a third straight session. Anglo American climbed 3.3 percent after the global miner said its first-half copper production surged 42 percent, underpinned by the ramp-up of its Quellaveco mine operations in Peru. The FTSE 350 index of industrial metal miners gained 2.9 percent as prices of most base metals rose on growing hopes that top metals consumer China would introduce additional support for its economic growth. “FTSE 100 is a portfolio of miners, oil companies and banks. What we’re seeing is a repricing upwards of all of those under loved assets, which have been out of favour for the last decade or two,” said James Baxter founder at Tideway Wealth.