STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
US stocks indexes slightly higher
Wall Street’s three major indexes rose slightly on Friday as Intel’s weak results put the technology sector under pressure and the energy index tumbled along with the price of oil and mixed first-quarter GDP data gave investors some pause. Dragging down the three main indexes was Intel Corp, which slumped 10.4% after it cut its full-year revenue forecast and missed the sales estimate for its key data center business in its quarterly report late Thursday.
Before the market open, US Commerce Department data showed gross domestic product rising faster than expected due to high inventories while consumer and business spending slowed sharply, and homebuilding investment contracted for a fifth straight quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 9.3 points, or 0.04%, at 26,471.38, the S&P 500 had gained 5.75 points, or 0.20%, to 2,931.92 and the Nasdaq Composite added 8.29 points, or 0.1%, to 8,126.97. Out of the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors, energy was the biggest percentage loser with a 1.7% drop as oil prices sank more than 3 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump again pressured the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise crude production to ease gasoline prices. Also, shares in oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp fell 3% after its quarterly profit missed estimates.
The S&P’s heavy weight technology index was the biggest drag on the benchmark, with a 0.6% decline. The consensus forecast for the S&P 500 dipped again to a 0.3% year-over-year decline after turning flat earlier in the week. Still it was an improvement on the 2.3% drop estimated at the start of the quarter.
Improving confidence in earnings had helped push the S&P 500 closer to its all-time high, reached in September. Stocks have rallied this year on hopes of a U.S.-China trade resolution and a turnaround in the Federal Reserve’s stance to abandon further interest rate hikes this year.
The S&P’s biggest boost on Friday was from the consumer discretionary sector, which rose 0.8%.
Offering support was Amazon.com Inc, which rose 2.4% after the e-commerce giant’s quarterly profit doubled and beat Wall Street estimates though its second quarter guidance was lower than expectations.
Also Ford Motor Co surged 10.5% and was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P after the automaker posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings largely due to strong pickup truck sales in its core US market.
Walt Disney Co rose 1.6% after Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at US and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.86-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 34 new lows.
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Pakistan stocks extend bullish streak
The KSE-100 index extended its bullish streak on Friday and closed with a gain of 335 points on investor optimism about early conclusion of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan deal and major positive developments during ongoing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China.
Likely approval of the proposed tax amnesty scheme, foreign inflows and higher global crude oil prices also played the role of catalysts in the bullish close of the market.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 334.6 points, or 0.91percent, to settle at 37,130.63. Positive sentiments could be attributed to attractive valuations of the KSE-100 index stocks. Overall trading volumes stood at 144 million shares while the traded value stood at $37 million. Overall, trading volumes increased to 143.9 million shares compared with Thursday
’s tally of 106.8 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.2 billion. Shares of 342 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 239 stocks closed higher, 83 declined and 20 remained unchanged. The Bank of Punjab XD was the volume leader with 19.95 million shares, gaining Rs0.16 to close at Rs12.71.
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France stocks higher
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gas & Water, General Financial and Foods & Drugs sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.21percent, while the SBF 120 index climbed 0.30percent. The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Valeo SA; which rose 6.65 percent or 2.05 points to trade at 32.88 at the close.
Meanwhile, Publicis Groupe SA added 3.70percent or 1.90 points to end at 53.24 and Sanofi SA was up 3.50percent or 2.58 points to 76.20 in late trade. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 328 to 253 and 84 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 3.64percent to 12.75.
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Germany stocks surge
Germany stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare and Media sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX gained 0.27percent to hit a new 6-months high, while the MDAX index climbed 0.29 percent, and the TecDAX index gained 0.69 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 390 to 312 and 79 ended unchanged. The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 3.59 percent to 13.68. Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.81 percent or 10.35 to $1290.05 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 3.74 percent or 2.44 to hit $62.77 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract fell 3.79 percent or 2.82 to trade at $71.53 a barrel.
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India Sensex climbs 336 points
Equity benchmark indices closed higher on Friday backed up by strong rollover data on Friday as well as positive Q4 numbers posted by several companies. BSE Sensex closed at 39,067, up by 336 points or by 0.87 percent and then NSE Nifty ended at 11,754 up by 112 points or by 0.97 percent.
The top gainers of the BSE Sensex pack were Tata Steel, Meghmani Organics, Alembic Pharmaceuticalsand GHCL. The top gainers of the NSE Nifty pack were Tata Steel, GAIL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank. On the sectoral front, except Auto, Media and Realty, all the other indices are trading higher, led by gains in Banks, Finance and Metal indices. The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of total 2,676 shares traded, shares advanced were 1095, while 1425 shares declined and 155 were unchanged. Overall 19 stocks closed in the green out of 30 stocks on the Sensex, whereas 34 stocks closed in the green out of the 50 stocks on Nifty. India’s volatility index is down by 1.77 points, or 7.62 percent at Rs 21.46 in the last hour of trade against the previous close of Rs 23.33. The Index had a days high of Rs 23.96 and Rs 21.45 as day’s low.
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Japanese stocks lower
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Electrical/Machinery, Finance & Investment and Automobiles & Parts sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.22percent. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., which rose 8.28percent or 300.0 points to trade at 3925.0 at the close.
Meanwhile, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. added 5.91percent or 306.0 points to end at 5481.0 and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. was up 5.25 percent or 80.5 points to 1612.5 in late trade. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2089 to 1402 and 235 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 5.40 percent to 16.40. Crude oil for June delivery was down 0.44 percent or 0.29 to $64.92 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in June fell 0.19percent or 0.14 to hit $74.21 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.34percent or 4.40 to trade at $1284.10 a troy ounce.