FTSE GETS STERLING RISE AS EUROPE DRAGGED LOWER BY BANKS
European shares slipped on Friday, dragged down by weaker banks, but British stocks managed to hit new records as sterling slid on a poll showing a narrower lead for the ruling party less than two weeks before a general election.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.5 percent and euro zone blue chips declined 0.7 percent by 0922 GMT, while in London both the main FTSE 100 benchmark and mid caps nudged higher to hit fresh record highs. In Europe banks were the biggest sectoral faller with their index down 1.3 percent to a one-week low.
Traders cited worries over the political situation in Italy and concerns surrounding ailing regional banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, even though the county’s economy minister sought to reassure investors on Thursday that they will not be hit in any rescue of the two banks. The oil & gas index fell 1.1 percent after OPEC extended output cuts but disappointed investors betting on longer or larger curbs, while oil prices recovered only part of the heavy slump seen on Thursday.
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KSE-100 INDEX ENDS LOWER
Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100 index ended lower on Friday having 52,636.87 points with a negative change of 232.14 and volume of 116,428,700 shares. High and Low were 52,874.63 and 52,455.44 respectively. Total volume traded in the market was 431,773,260 shares with 401 total traded companies out of which 189 were up 208 were down and 4 were equal.
Cement was the top traded sector with total traded volume of 109,295,700 shares. It was followed by Commercial Banks with a total traded volume of 54,828,300 shares. The three top traded firms were Power Cement(R) with a volume of 77,045,500 and price per share of 2.83 (0.39), Engro Polymer with a volume 25,491,000 of price per share of 33.11 (1.06), Bank of Punjab with a volume 24,572,000 of price per share of 1.80 (0.02). The top three advancers were Nestle Pakistan with price per share 10199.67 (200.00), Colgate Palmolive with price per share of 2289.00 (82.00) and Rafhan MaizeXD share of 7316.33 (50.00). The top three decliners were Wyeth Pak LtdXDwith price per share of 2536.83 (132.51), Unilever Foods with price per share of 6139.00 (117.00) and Mari Petroleum per share of 1687.43 (44.33).
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TOKYO SHARES HIT BY OPEC MOVE, NINTENDO AT 8-YEAR HIGH
Tokyo stocks fell Friday as energy firms were hit by an OPEC decision not to cut output more to buoy oil prices, but videogame giant Nintendo hit an eight-year high on rosy sales prospects. Investors were disappointed that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided not to prolong existing production cuts past March, which sent crude futures plunging almost five percent on Thursday.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 0.64 percent, or 126.29 points, lower at 19,686.84. It ticked up 0.49 percent over the week. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues declined 0.57 percent, or 9.00 points, to end the session at 1,569.42. It rose 0.62 percent from last Friday.
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INDIA’S BSE SET ALL-TIME RECORD
Indian stock markets hit record highs with the benchmark BSE Sensex crossing the milestone of 31,000 points for the first time ever coinciding with the third anniversary of the Narendra Modi government.
Stock market may not be the definitive barometer of any economy but certainly is a widely tracked indicator though it only captures the market capitalization of the listed firms.
The market indices have gained 25-30 percent since the Modi government came to power in May 2014. Low oil and commodity prices and forecast of a normal monsoon along with reforms like GST are among the major reasons for the market’s upmove backed by a flurry of recent policy decisions. It is said that the Sensex attaining 31,000 level is one more milestone in this upmove with the latest rise of 1,000 points taking just one month and at the same time Sensex grew 20 percent from its recent bottom in just 5-month.
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SRI LANKA STOCKS LOWER
Sri Lanka stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Construction & Engineering, Services and Investment Trust sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Colombo, the CSE All-Share declined 0.25 percent. The best performers of the session on the CSE All-Share were PC House PLC, which rose 100.00 percent or 0.100 points to trade at 0.200 at the close. Meanwhile, Lanka Ashok Leyland PLC added 15.56 percent or 175.00 points to end at 1300.00 and Brown & Company PLC was up 12.92 percent or 12.00 points to 104.90 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Kelani Valley Plantations PLC, which declined 10.72 percent or 10.40 points to trade at 86.60 at the close. Printcare PLC fell 5.98 percent or 2.10 points to end at 33.00 and Eden Hotel Lanka PLC was down 5.33 percent or 0.80 points to 14.20.