Stocks gain slightly in volatile trading
The stock market underwent a volatile ride on Friday, hitting intraday low of 41,064.54 points before cherry-picking helped it recover. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened up on the back of positive expectations about the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting. Later, the FATF decided to keep the country on grey list until February 2021 as the watchdog found that Pakistan had successfully complied with 21 out of 27 points of action. The benchmark KSE-100 index, however, failed to sustain the bullish momentum and continued to drop as investors resorted to profit-booking towards the end of first session on news of rising coronavirus cases. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 66.98 points, or 0.16 percent, to settle at 41,266 points. Sectors contributing to the performance included cement (+92 points), insurance (+20 points), fertiliser (+13 points), banks (-31 points), exploration and production (-18 points) and power (-11 points). Individually, stocks that contributed positively to the index included Lucky Cement (+25 points), Engro Corporation (+19 points), Cherat Cement (+19 points), Maple Leaf Cement (+13 points) and Kohat Cement (+10 points). Stocks that contributed negatively were Bank AL Habib (-18 points), Hubco (-18 points), Engro Polymer and Chemicals (-10 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (-9 points) and Pakistan Petroleum (-7 points). The Experts said that the benchmark KSE-100 index closed on a flat note, gaining only 67 points. The market remained volatile on the back of FATF meeting as investors booked short-term gains before the final outcome. Overall, trading volumes fell to 354.4 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 500.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.6 billion. Shares of 402 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 219 stocks closed higher, 172 declined and 11 remained unchanged. Maple Leaf was the volume leader with 45.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.44 to close at Rs42.18. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 27.9 million shares, gaining Rs1.34 to close at Rs19.25 and Unity Foods with 24.4 million shares, losing Rs0.38 to close at Rs21.39. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs409.7 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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Sensex ends 127 points higher boosted by auto shares
Domestic share markets rose on Friday led by automobile shares, amid cautious gains across Asia as investors assessed the prospect of another stimulus package in the world’s largest economy. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped as much as 0.62 percent – or 252.63 points – to touch 40,811.12 during the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,974.55, up 0.66 percent from its previous close. Analysts awaited earnings reports from larger cap companies for cues.
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Japanese shares decline on rising Yen, US political unrest
Japanese shares fell on Thursday as a rise in the yen threatened earnings of export-focused stocks, while uncertainty ahead of the US presidential election weighed on sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.64 percent to 23,489.27 by 0153 GMT while the broader Topix was down 1.05 percent at 1,620.32. The yen jumped to a one-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, pressuring shares of Japanese companies that export autos and consumer g…
Analysts attributed the yen’s move to the broader sell-off in the dollar as investors grow more concerned about stalled negotiations over a new round of US fiscal stimulus.
Some traders are also reducing their exposure to riskier assets ahead of the US elections on Nov. 3, which could cap gains in Japanese shares. The top underperformers among the Topix 30 on Thursday were Central Japan Railway Co, down 3.78 percent, followed…
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France stocks higher at end of trade; CAC 40 up 1.20pc
France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 gained 1.20 percent, while the SBF 120 index added 1.14 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 327 to 233 and 93 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 6.21 percent to 27.09. Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.12 percent or 2.30 to $1902.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.92 percent or 0.78 to hit $39.86 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 1.70 percent or 0.72 to trade at $41.74 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.23 percent to 1.1843, while EUR/GBP rose 0.65 percent to 0.9089. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11 percent at 92.865.
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FTSE 100 wraps up the week with 74 point gain
The FTSE 100 finished the Friday session 74 points ahead, up 1.3 percent, at 5,860.3, and the FTSE 250 improved 215 points, 1.2 percent, to 18,109.6. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back its early gains, as has been the pattern this week. The index went from up about 70 points to down 88, 0.3 percent, just after noon ET. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 34 points, 0.3 percent, to 11,471.4, and the S&P 500 fell 2.6 points, less than 0.1percent, to 3,450.9. US benchmarks started the last day of the trading week in mixed mood as traders look ahead to the release of economic data this morning and continue to mull whether a stimulus deal will be struck or not. In early Wall Street deals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 51 points at 28,414. The S&P 500 gained over eight points at 3,462. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell into the red though, shedding around nine points at 11,496.