TSX DECLINES IN BROAD RETREAT LEAD BY ENERGY STOCKS
Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday, weighed by a broad retreat led by energy sector losses as crude prices dropped, while major oil sands producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd bucked the trend after a positive earnings surprise. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially ended down 73.67 points, or 0.48 percent, at 15,191.96. All 10 of its main sectors ended in the red.
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NIKKEI DECLINES AS STRONGER YEN CASTS SHADOW; FLAT FOR THE WEEK
Japan’s Nikkei share average slipped on Friday as the yen’s rise to 7-week highs overshadowed optimism on corporate earnings, while Mazda Motor increased ahead of an expected announcement of a capital alliance with Toyota Motor. The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 19,952.33, but stayed flat on the week. The trading range in which it has remained since mid-June has narrowed. A surprisingly soft reading on the US services sector sapped risk appetite and helped to bring down the dollar to a 7-week low of 109.85 yen on Friday. The broader Topix fell 0.2 percent to 1,631.45, maintaining its outperformance versus the Nikkei since June thanks to strength in small-cap shares.
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BRITAIN’S FTSE MARKS BEST WEEK IN THIS YEAR AS DOLLAR EARNERS, FINANCIALS SHINE
The UK’s top share index enjoyed its best week so far in 2017 as gains among big defensive overseas earners on Friday outweighed declines for housebuilding stocks. Britain’s blue chip FTSE 100 index closed the session up 0.5 percent at 7,511.71 points after a shaky start to the trading session, while mid caps gained 0.3 percent.
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HONG KONG ENDES UP, SHANGHAI DOWN
Hong Kong stocks edged higher Friday while Shanghai lost momentum as traders await US jobs data later in the day. The Hang Seng Index increased 0.12 percent, or 31.67 points, to end at 27,562.68. But the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.33 percent, or 10.85 points, to 3,262.08, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, declined 0.57 percent, or 10.72 points to 1,858.49.
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EUROPEAN SHARES MARKETS SLIP AT OPEN
Europe’s main stock markets lost ground at the start of trading on Friday, as traders eagerly awaited non-farm payrolls data in the United States. In initial deals, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1 percent to 7,469.63 points compared with the end on Thursday. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index also shed 0.1 percent to 12,138.09 points and the Paris CAC 40 retreated 0.2 percent to 5,122.40. The key US jobs report could provide clues on the strength of the world’s top economy and the odds of an additional Federal Reserve rate hike this year.
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US JOBS REPORT SENDS WORLDWIDE STOCKS HIGHER
Rosy US jobs numbers sent Wall Street higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising to an eighth straight record finish. The beleaguered US dollar also got a shot in the arm from the strong July employment report, which showed the world’s largest economy adding north of 200,000 new positions for the second straight month. In New York, the Dow increased 0.3 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained 0.2 percent.
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KSE-100 INDEX’S 5-DAY OPTIMISTIC STREAK ENDS
The five-day winning streak came to an end as the stock market closed Friday’s session in the red zone. The KSE 100-share Index opened optimistic, climbing 150 points to touch an intra-day high at 47,241.17 points, but it struggled to sustain the momentum and fell slightly. Before the mid-day break, the index surged again to touch 47,200 points, but could not cross the threshold. In the later session, the KSE-100 began to descend and ended down 206.97 points. At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a fall of 0.44 percent to finish the day at 46,877.37. Overall, trading volumes fell to 346 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 455 million. Shares of 407 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 173 stocks closed higher, 211 declined while 23 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs13.4 billion. The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 41.9 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs11.89. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 25.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.27 to close at Rs16.20 and Aisha Steel Mills with 23.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.62 to close at Rs23.90.