STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD
Pakistan market up on back of upbeat current account data
The stock market remained bullish on Friday on the back of upbeat data on the current account deficit for FY19 and a surge in foreign exchange reserves, which went up after the receipt of first loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The uptrend emerged late in the trading session. Foreign inflows, government’s approval of an increase in local fertiliser prices and hopes for improved Pakistan-US trade ties in the wake of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Washington next week played the role of catalysts in bullish close of the market.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 149.23 points, or 0.46 percent, to settle at 32,458.77. Overall, trading volumes increased to 121.6 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 87.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.4 billion. Shares of 316 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 155 stocks closed higher, 129 declined and 32 remained unchanged. Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 14.4 million shares, losing Rs0.24 to close at Rs19.78.
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US stocks fall on interest rates cut plan
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Friday following a report that the Federal Reserve plans to cut interest rates by only a quarter-percentage point at the end of the month.
The benchmark S&P 500 erased earlier marginal gains after a Wall Street Journal report on the Fed’s plans. According to the report, while the US central bank is not prepared to make a bigger 50-basis-point cut, it may make further rate cuts in the future given concerns about a decline in global economic growth and uncertainty about trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.77 points, or 0.25%, to 27,154.2, the S&P 500 lost 18.5 points, or 0.62%, to 2,976.61 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 60.75 points, or 0.74%, to 8,146.49. For the week, the Dow lost 0.64%, the S&P fell 1.23% and the Nasdaq shed 1.19%. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.29-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.51-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 45 new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 84 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 6.25 billion shares, compared to the 6.59 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
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FED signals help Britain’s index brush off Italy woes
London’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday as bolstered hopes of a US interest rate cut stoked risk appetite, though the index’s advances were reined in after political turmoil in Italy triggered a broad sell-off in bank stocks.
The blue-chip index ended up 0.2 percent, after climbing as much as 0.7 percent. The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.4 percent, as Acacia Mining soared after agreeing to an increased buyout offer from Barrick Gold. Acacia surged more than 19 percent to 222.6 pence on its best day ever after Barrick, its largest shareholder, agreed to buy out the remaining shares in the company it does not already own at an implied value of 232 pence a share. However, fresh political troubles in Italy amid speculation that the government might collapse, drove investors away from financial stocks across Europe. RBS and Lloyds lost more than 1pc each on the FTSE 100.
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India’s Sensex ends 560 points lower
The S&P BSE Sensex plunged more than 550 points while Nifty50 broke below 11,500 levels on July 19. On the sectoral front, the S&P BSE Auto index led the fall, followed by Realty, Bankex, and consumer discretionary stocks.
Sectors which bucked the trend include power and consumer durables. So far in July, foreign investors have pulled out more than Rs 5,000 crore from the cash segment of the Indian equity market.
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Japan’s Nikkei up 2pc
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index gained two percent on Friday, recouping some of the previous day’s sharp losses triggered by the yen’s appreciation.
The Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.0 percent, or 420.75 points, to end at 21,466.99. Over the week, it lost 1.0 percent. The broader Topix index rose 1.94 percent, or 29.69 points, to 1,563.96. Over the week, it was down 0.78 percent. In individual stocks trade, Sony rose 1.70 percent to 5,838 yen and Toyota climbed 2.09 percent to 7,121 yen. The dollar was trading at 107.61 yen, up from 107.30 yen in New York Thursday afternoon but still down from 107.67 yen when the Tokyo market closed on Thursday.
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France stocks lower
France stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.38 percent, while the SBF 120 index declined 0.39 percent. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 383 to 182 and 83 ended unchanged. Shares in Veolia Environnement VE rose to 3-years highs; gaining 0.48percent or 0.110 to 22.800. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was up 6.71 percent to 14.44 a new 1-month high. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.28 percent or 4.05 to $1427.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 2.80 percent or 1.59 to hit $55.19 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 2.75 percent or 1.75 to trade at $61.91 a barrel.
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Germany stocks move up
Germany stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Technology, Media and Chemicals sectors led shares higher. At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.26 percent, while the MDAX index gained 0.42 percent, and the TecDAX index added 0.98 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 412 to 268 and 83 ended unchanged.
The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was unchanged 0.00 percent to 14.64. Gold Futures for August delivery was down 0.14 percent or 2.00 to $1426.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 0.09 percent or 0.05 to hit $55.25 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 0.24 percent or 0.15 to trade at $62.08 a barrel.