BULLS TOSS PSX INDEX TO FRESH PEAK
A bullish trend continued on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on the last trading day of the year 2016.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index rose by 140.31 points to close at all-time high of 47,806.97 points Friday. The Index hit 47,938.65 points intra-day high, however it failed to sustain this level due to selling in select stocks at the fag end.
Daily trading volumes stood at 387.301 million shares as compared to 390.854 million shares traded Thursday.
The market capitalization increased by Rs 59 billion to Rs9.628 trillion. Out of total 409 active scrips, 203 closed in negative, 190 in positive while the value of 16 stocks remained unchanged. Dost Steels was the volume leader with 45.714 million shares.
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EUROPEAN STOCKS POST SMALL LOSS FOR 2016
European shares posted a small loss for 2016, though strong gains among mining stocks and the oil & gas sector as well as a turnaround in banks in the latter part of the year lent support, while Britain’s FTSE 100 index climbed to a record high.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended the session up 0.3 percent with almost all major regional indexes higher. The bounce in miners also helped Britain’s FTSE 100 to gain 14.4 percent in 2016, making it the best performer among major European stock indexes despite the shock of June’s Brexit vote.
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FTSE ENDS 2016 IN STYLE, SETS RECORD HIGH
Britain’s bluechip FTSE 100 index closed 2016 at a record high level on Friday, with a blistering rally in mining stocks and a sharp fall in sterling after June’s shock Brexit vote boosting the market.
The benchmark index, dominated by global companies, closed 0.3 percent higher at a life-time peak of 7,142.83 points on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 7,129.83 set in October this year. It surged 14.4 percent in 2016, outperforming major European indexes by a big margin.
The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 index fell around 1.6 percent in 2016, while Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB slumped about 10 percent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were up 6.9 percent and 4.7 percent respectively. The country’s domestically-focused mid-cap index ended 0.3 percent higher on the day.
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CHINA’S KEY SHARE INDEXES END A BUMPY 2016 WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT LOSSES
Chinese stocks rose slightly on Friday, the last trading day of 2016, but the bluechip index ended the year more than 11 percent lower despite signs of resilience in the world’s second-largest economy. The Chinese market did find its footing after a deep plunge early in 2016.
The two main market indexes finished the year more than 17 percent above a February trough. On Friday, the CSI300 index rose 0.4 percent, to 3,309.99 points at the close, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent, to 3,103.40 points. For the year, the Shanghai index lost 12.3 percent. In contrast to losses in China, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a US benchmark, was on track to end 2017 up more than 10 percent.
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NIKKEI CLOSES VOLATILE 2016 TO MARK HIGHEST CLOSE IN TWO DECADES
Tokyo’s benchmark stock index ended a volatile 2016 on a down note Friday, but still hit the highest year-end close in two decades on optimism over the incoming US government.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.42 percent in 2016 to close at 19,114.37, marking the fifth consecutive annual increase and highest year-end finish since 1996 when it ended at 19,361.35.
On Friday, however, it lost 0.16 percent, or 30.77 points, taking its downward lead from the US overnight. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was unable to keep pace this year, losing 1.85 percent to 1,518.61, snapping four years of gains. It managed to edge up 0.01 percent, or 0.22 points on Friday.
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INDIAN SHARES INCREASE
Indian shares rose in the last trading session of 2016 and were set to post a yearly gain as they recover from the final quarter’s losses, which took the shine off the gains made earlier in the year.
The NSE index was set to gain about 3 percent and the BSE index about 2 percent in a year that was marked by volatility from global events including Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and the US election victory of Donald Trump in November.
The NSE index was up 0.91 percent at 8,176.35 as of 0639 GMT on Friday, heading for a gain of 2.3 percent for the week, its biggest since the week ended on November 18. The BSE index was up 0.98 percent at 26,625.99, heading for a weekly gain of 2.1 percent.
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SRI LANKAN SHARES DECLINE
Sri Lankan shares fell on Friday, posting a yearly decline of about 10 percent, in thin trade due to year-end holidays, while investors waited for directions from the central bank on the rupee and interest rates.
The Colombo stock index closed 0.28 percent lower at 6,228.26, declining 9.7 percent in 2016, its second straight yearly fall. In terms of dollar value, market capitalization fell 13 percent, making Sri Lanka a worse performer than emerging Asian markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. Foreign investors sold a net 6.4 million rupees of equities on Friday, but purchased a net 633.5 million rupees ($4.24 million) in 2016, compared with a net sell of 4.43 billion rupees last year. Turnover stood at 202 million rupees, less than a third of this year’s daily average of 737.2 million rupees.
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HONG KONG SHARES END 2016 ROUGHLY FLAT
Hong Kong shares rose around 1 percent on Friday, but the main indexes ended 2016 near where they started after a volatile 12 months, punctuated by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump’s triumph in the US presidential election.
On the last trading session of the year, the Hang Seng index added 1.0 percent, to 22,000.56 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.9 percent, to 9,394.87.