STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
US Nasdaq and S&P indexes at record high
Robust earnings from Alphabet and Starbucks pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to record highs on Friday, with support from data showing US economic growth slowed less than expected in the second quarter.
The US Commerce Department said GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the second quarter, higher than a 1.8% rate forecast.
Starbucks rallied 8.9% to a record high after the world’s largest coffee chain posted its biggest same-store sales growth in three years. Alphabet Inc surged 9.6% after beating Wall Street targets on higher ad sales and growth at its cloud unit, a high-margin business it is leaning more on to drive expansion. Twitter Inc rose 8.9% after it posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue and an uptick in daily users who see advertisements on the site.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19% to end the week at 27,192.45 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.74% to 3,025.86. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.11% to 8,330.21. For the week, the S&P 500 added 1.7%, the Nasdaq climbed 2.3% and the Dow rose 0.1%.
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Pakistan stocks slide owing to dismal earnings outlook
Bears returned to the bourse once again on Friday and pushed the KSE-100 index down by 343 points owing to a dismal corporate earnings outlook. The World Bank’s draft report, which downgraded Pakistan’s ranking on almost all fiscal management-related indicators, contributed to the market’s fall.
Earlier, trading began on a negative note and the KSE-100 index followed a downward trajectory, ending the first session with a loss of 160 points. The second session extended the losses and the day closed in the red. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 343.13 points, or 1.06%, to settle at 32,103.27.
The technology sector followed banks in terms of volumes with trading in 11.6 million shares. Cement stocks trailed technology shares with trading in 8.2 million shares. DG Khan Cement hit its lower circuit and Maple Leaf Cement traded mostly in the red, the report added. Traded volumes were up 36% day-on-day at 87 million shares while traded value dropped 18% to $12 million.
Overall, trading volumes increased to 86.6 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 63.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.94 billion. Shares of 310 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 50 stocks closed higher, 243 declined and 17 remained unchanged. The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 23.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.17 to close at Rs8.23. o close at Rs15.12.
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India’s Sensex snaps 6-day losing streak
Domestic indices ended Friday’s lackluster trade with marginal gains. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and broader Nifty50 traded range-bound for better part of the day tracking corporate earnings and weakness in global markets.
The Sensex ended 52 points, or 0.14 per cent, higher at 37,883 levels pulled up by automobile manufacturers, banking and financial stocks. YES Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hero Moto Corp, and M&M ended the day as top gainers while Vedanta, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, and Reliance were the top laggards at the close. On the other hand, Nifty50 settled at 11,284 mark, up 32 points, or 0.29 levels. In the broader market, S&P BSE MidCap ended 73 points, or 0.53 per cent, higher at 13,856 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap closed 29 points, or 0.22 per cent, higher at 13,060 levels.
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London’s FTSE 100 rebounds as Vodafone jumps
London’s FTSE 100 recovered on Friday as Vodafone jumped on plans to create a separate European tower company and education firm Pearson gained after an upbeat trading update.
Meanwhile Anglo American slumped after billionaire Anil Agarwal said he would divest his stake. The FTSE 100 index added 0.2% by 0710 GMT, while the midcaps were largely unchanged. Vodafone surged 8% after laying out plans to separate its mobile mast infrastructure in 10 European markets into a new organization that it potentially could list.
Pearson, the world’s biggest education company, climbed nearly 7% after saying it had traded well in the first half of 2019 as its strategy to shift away from textbooks towards digital begins to pay off. Miners, however, weighed on the main bourse with a 4% drop in Anglo American after its biggest shareholder Agarwal said he was divesting the nearly 20% stake, and as copper prices fell after comments from the European Central Bank dampened rate cut hopes.
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Japan stocks higher
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 gained 0.22% to hit a new 1-month high. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2243 to 1223 and 284 ended unchanged. Shares in Advantest Corp rose to 5-year highs; gaining 20.23% or 700.0 to 4160.0. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00% to 14.95. Crude oil for September delivery was up 0.63% or 0.35 to $56.23 a barrel.
Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in September rose 0.49% or 0.31 to hit $63.49 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract rose 0.12% or 1.65 to trade at $1425.25 a troy ounce.
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France stocks advance
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.57%, while the SBF 120 index climbed 0.66%. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 310 to 249 and 89 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 5.63% to 12.81. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.27% or 3.85 to $1418.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 0.07% or 0.04 to hit $56.06 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.02% or 0.01 to trade at $63.40 a barrel.
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Germany stocks slightly up
Germany stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Software, Consumer & Cyclical and Media sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX added 0.47%, while the MDAX index climbed 0.48%, and the TecDAX index gained 1.30%. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 390 to 278 and 91 ended unchanged. The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 6.28% to 13.74.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.31% or 4.45 to $1419.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.02% or 0.01 to hit $56.01 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 0.13% or 0.08 to trade at $63.31 a barrel. EUR/USD was down 0.19% to 1.1124, while EUR/GBP rose 0.46% to 0.8982. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.22% at 97.768.