LONDON – Latest release of minutes from the Bank of England sent the FTSE 100 soaring past the psychological barrier of 6,400 points mark for the first time in history. The benchmark FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent and the FTSE 250 advanced by 0.7 percent to end a good day for traders at the London Stock Exchange.
RSA Insurance plunged by 14 percent as another insurer Aviva declined by 3.1 percent. In contrast, drink can maker Rexam finished the day on a sanguine note, higher by 4.6 percent. Engineering firm Weir Group also ended the day 1.4 percent higher after announcement of its expenditure on three new acquisitions.
MANILA – The Philippines Stock Exchange kept on breaking records. A new high of 6,620.72 points was reached at the end of Wednesday’s trading, higher by 0.85 percent or 55.49 points. Much of this rally was driven by continuing investor interest, favourable earnings announcements and the listing of a new company at the bourse. As Jonathan L. Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. also stated, “Investors remain upbeat of earnings report”.
[newsletter1][/newsletter1]
Only the oil and mining sector declined by 0.33 percent, or 72.17 points, to settle at 21,924.22 points. All of the remaining sectors at the bourse showed signs of continuing improvements. Amongst the gainers, the ‘property’ sector led the pack surging by 1.89 percent, or 50.93 points, to finish at 2,752.53 points.
MUMBAI – The Bombay Stock Exchange made modest gains, up by 20.84 points to close the day at 19,656.56 points. Foreign firm Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd was amongst the leaders among the ‘gainers’ on Wednesday at the BSE. Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd grew by 4.90%, followed closely by DLF Ltd. growing by 3.70% and RIL gaining by 3.20%.
MMTC Ltd and JPVL were amongst the biggest ‘losers’. The former shed 3.49% and the latter plunged by a whopping 6.54%. REL and GIL also lost 3.42% and 2.87%, respectively, to round up the list of top ‘losers’ at the BSE. Amongst the sectors that were hit hard the most, the banking sector stood out by shedding 50.25 points to close at 14,193.02 points.
KARACHI – Political instability and insecurity situation affected the trading at the Karachi Stock Exchange on Wednesday as the benchmark KSE-100 shed 0.27%, or 47.90 points, to close at 17,817.71 points. A few analysts attributed the downturn at the bourse to profit taking by investors. Samar Iqbal at Topline Securities thought that ““Profit-taking was led by Pakistan Telecommunication Company, which closed 4% down amid unconfirmed news that telecom companies may face contempt of court charges after increasing international call rates. Other telecom stocks also fell due to this.”
Volume leader PTCL lost Rs 0.88, ending the day at Rs. 21.89 per share, and Fauji Cement dropped Rs. 0.21, closing at Rs. 8.74, while Jahangir Siddiqui & Company displayed modest gains, closing at Rs. 18.31, up by Rs. 0.30.
