Global Stock Exchanges.

• Author: Kazmi, S. Kamal Hayder

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD

Pakistan stocks end last session of fiscal year on a positive note

Despite wild fluctuations, the stock market closed its last trading session of the current financial year in the green, buoyed by a smart recovery of the rupee. In the morning, the KSE-100 index opened on a negative note and dropped over 360 points in intra-day trading before the market paused for midday break. However, the rupee's significant gains against the US dollar helped the index recover the losses made in the first half.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 127.15 points, or 0.38percent, to settle at 33,901.58. Overall, trading volumes increased to 213.9 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 135 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.3 billion. Shares of 338 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 204 stocks closed higher, 109 declined and 25 remained unchanged. Silkbank was the volume leader with 38.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.20 to close at Rs1.18. It was followed by K-Electric with 21.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.20 to close at Rs4.39 and The Bank of Punjab XD with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs9.15. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs146.7 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

US stocks set for best June in decades as G20 convenes

Wall Street advanced on Friday, with the SandP 500 and the Dow on track for their best June in generations, ahead of the much-anticipated trade talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit now underway in Japan.

All three major US stock indexes were higher near the close of the week, month, quarter and first half of the year, during which the U.S. stock market has had a remarkable run.

The SandP 500 was poised to have its best June since 1955. The Dow was on track for its best June since 1938. From the start of 2019, after investors fled equities amid fears of a global economic slowdown and sending stock markets tumbling in December, the benchmark SandP 500 is up 17%, its largest first-half increase since 1997.

Financial stocks led the gains in the SandP 500 and the Dow after the big US banks passed Federal Reserve's "stress test," with the central bank giving the companies a clean bill of health. The SandP 500 Bank...