PAKISTAN SHARES RECOVER ON SUPPORT FROM LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
Pakistan stocks once again bounced back to recover some of the losses of the previous session and ended in the green in another volatile session on Friday.
The KSE-100 Index declined over 400 points in the first 2-hour of trading, however, soon after it started to climb. The positivity continued even after midday break as the index shot up 500 points. It fell slightly before the end of trading, but still remained positive.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 373.13 points or 0.88 percent at 42,641.75 points. Overall, trading volumes declined to 177 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 184.6 million. Shares of 369 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 240 stocks ended higher, 118 fell while 11 remained equal. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.4 billion. TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 24.8 million shares, losing Rs1.83 to close at Rs38.07.
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US STOCKS MOVE HIGHER
US stocks closed higher on Friday with the main indexes posting solid weekly gains after neither Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen nor European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered clues about future monetary policy moves in a pair of speeches at a central banker retreat in Wyoming.
In speeches at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Yellen focused on banking regulations and economic improvements in the U.S., while Draghi raised concerns about protectionism. The gathering of global central bankers will continue through Saturday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 30.27 points, or 0.1%, at 21,813.67 and posted a 0.6% weekly gain, after two weeks of declines.
The S&P 500 rose 4.08 points, or 0.2%, to end at 2,443.05, with nine of the 11 main sectors closing in positive territory. Telecoms and energy shares led the gains, while technology and health-care stocks suffered a minor setback. The benchmark index finished the week 0.7% higher.
The Nasdaq Composite Index settled lower after dipping in and out of positive territory. The tech-heavy index closed 5.68 points, or 0.1%, lower at 6,265.64, dragged down by underperforming technology shares. The index still gained over the week, rising 0.8% for its first weekly gain in five weeks.
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RETAIL SHARES LAG DEPRESSED EUROPEAN MARKET ON COMPETITION WORRIES
Fresh competition worries hit Ahold and other European retail stocks on Friday with euro strength weighing on the broader market as speeches by central bankers at the Jackson Hole gathering in the US came into focus.
Ahold dropped more than 6 per cent after Amazon said it will cut prices on a range of goods as it completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market.
Shares in the Dutch supermarket, which has a strong presence on the east coast of the US, fell as much as 7.6 per cent to their lowest level in 16 months, the biggest decline among European shares.
Gains among financials and energy stocks were not enough to support the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, which was down 0.1 per cent at its close, having spent the large part of the session in positive territory, while Euro zone blue chips also ended 0.2 per cent lower.
The Stoxx fell as the euro spiked and the dollar dropped back after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made no reference to US monetary policy in her speech at the Jackson Hole symposium.
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CANADIAN MAN INDEX INCREASES
Canada’s main stock index rose early on Friday as miners, financials and railways broadly gained, while Tahoe Resources Inc plunged after a Guatemalan court upheld the suspension of its license to operate one of the world’s largest silver mines.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 18.22 points, or 0.12 percent, at 15,094.38 soon after the open. It is on track for a 1 percent gain on the week.
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TOKYO SHARES END HIGHER
Tokyo stocks increased on Friday as Toyota and Honda chalked up gains, with investors focused on a key meeting of the world’s top central bankers later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.51 percent, or 98.84 points, to close at 19,452.61, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues ticked up 0.30 percent, or 4.79 points, to end at 1,596.99.
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HONG KONG SHARES EXTEND RALLY
Hong Kong stocks closed the morning session with healthy gains on Friday, putting the market on course for a fourth successive rise as financiers keep an eye on a meeting of central bank heads later in the day. The Hang Seng Index added 0.68 percent, or 188.40 points, to 27,707.00 by the break.
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GLOBAL STOCK INDICES
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|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Country
|
Stock Name
|
Date
|
Change July, 2016/March2017
|
||
|
June 30, 2016
|
March 31, 2017
|
Points
|
%
|
||
|
1 Pakistan
|
PSX 100 Index
|
37,783.54
|
48,155.93
|
10,372.39
|
27.5
|
|
2 Japan
|
NIKKEI 225
|
15,575.92
|
18,909.26
|
3,333.34
|
21.4
|
|
3 Hong Kong
|
Hang Seng
|
20,794.37
|
24,111.59
|
3,317.22
|
16.0
|
|
4 Turkey
|
Bursa Istanbul ISE 100
|
76,817.19
|
88,947.40
|
12,130.21
|
15.8
|
|
5 USA
|
S&P 500
|
2,098.86
|
2,362.72
|
263.86
|
15.4
|
|
6 MSCI EM
|
MSCI EM MKT
|
834.10
|
958.37
|
124.27
|
14.9
|
|
7 Vietnam
|
VN
|
632.26
|
722.31
|
90.05
|
14.2
|
|
8 UK
|
FTSE
|
6,504.30
|
7,322.90
|
818.60
|
12.6
|
|
9 Singapore
|
Strait Times
|
2840.93
|
3175.11
|
334.18
|
11.8
|
|
10 Indonesia
|
Jakarta Composite
|
5,016.65
|
5,568.11
|
551.46
|
11.0
|
|
11 China
|
Shanghai Comp.
|
2,929.61
|
3,222.51
|
292.9
|
10.0
|
|
12 MSCI FM
|
MSCI Frontier
|
489.11
|
537.11
|
48.0
|
9.8
|
|
13 India
|
BSE-30
|
26,999.72
|
29,620.50
|
2,620.78
|
9.7
|
|
14 Bangkok
|
Set 50
|
910.56
|
996.44
|
85.88
|
9.4
|
|
15 Philippines
|
PSEi
|
7,796.25
|
7,311.72
|
-484.53
|
-6.2
|