Tag: Global Politics

December 05, 2020: Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records Friday, extending a post-election rally as disappointing US jobs data boosted the prospects for fiscal stimulus.

All three major indices finished the week at all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.8 percent to 30,218.26.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 0.9 percent to close at 3,699.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.7 percent to 12,464.23.

The rally came even following government data showing the jobs recovery stalled, as US employers added just 245,000 new jobs in November.

And though the unemployment rate dipped to 6.7 percent from 6.9 percent, the lowest since the pandemic struck, that was due to Americans leaving the workforce.

Noting that new Covid-19 cases are "raging" in the US, FHN Financial's Chris Low warned in a note "job growth will be sluggish for the next three or four months, minimum."

Still, Low pointed out that US approval of the first coronavirus vaccine could come as soon as next week.

Analysts said the weak jobs data provides further impetus for Congress to enact a new stimulus package, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have revived efforts to hash out a deal.

President-elect Joe Biden reiterated the need for immediate support, saying "if we don't act now, the future will be very bleak. Americans need help and they need it now."

JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said the fresh stock records "might seem jarring" in light of the soaring coronavirus counts in the United States, but noted that the market is looking to vaccines and an economic recovery in 2021.

"Keep in mind that the stock market is a forward-looking beast, meaning that current activity in the main indices may be reflecting a good bit of investor anticipation of what might happen months from now," Kinahan said in a note.

AFP/APP

December 04, 2020: The cement sector posted growth of 4.19 percent in November 2020 as compared to last year - which is the lowest monthly growth during this fiscal year after double-digit growth in September 2020 and October 2020.

According to the data released by APCMA, in November 2020, the total cement despatches was recorded at 4.508 million tons showing an increase of 4.19 percent from 4.327 million tons in November 2019, however, down from 5.735 million tons recorded in October 2020 and 5.225 million tons in September 2020.

The local uptake of cement in November 2020 increased by 6.29 percent to 3.742 million tons from 3.521 million tons in November 2019 while exports registered a reduction of 4.99 percent, declining to 766,273 tons from 806,521 tons in the same month last year. This is the first instance of decreasing exports during this fiscal which otherwise was on the rising trend.

In the north region, domestic cement despatches increased by 4.79 percent to 3.129 million tons during November 2020 from 2.986 million tons in November 2019. Exports from the north decreased by 30.81 percent to 0.182 million tons in November 2020 from 0.263 million tons in November 2019.

In the southern region, the domestic cement despatches increased by 14.66 percent to 613,113 tons from 534,720 tons in November 2019. Exports from the South increased by 7.51 percent to 584,182 tons in November this year from 543,361 tons in November 2019.

Total cement despatches during the first five months of the current fiscal year increased by 16.61 percent to 23.839 million tons from 20.444 million tons in July-Nov 2019. Domestic despatches registered a healthy increase of 15.55 percent, increasing from 16.837 million tons to 19.456 million tons. Exports also showed encouraging growth increasing by 21.54 percent from 3.607 million tons to 4.384 million tons.

In the North (Punjab-KPK) the domestic growth increased by 16.03 percent as consumption in the first five months of the current fiscal year increased to 16.757 million tons from 14.442 million tons during the same period last year. The exports from North posted a decline of 10.34 percent in the first five months of this fiscal year which decreased to 1.087 million tons from 1.213 million tons during Jul-Nov 2019.

In the South (Sindh-Baluchistan) the domestic growth increased by 12.66 percent as consumption in the first five months of the current fiscal year increased to 2.698 million tons from 2.395 million tons last year. The exports from the South posted a growth of 37.70 percent in the first five months of this fiscal year which increased to 3.296 million tons from 2.394 million tons during Jul-Nov 2019.

The spokesman of APCMA said that “The adverse publicity the cement sector received as a result of the coercive actions by Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) even before completion of the investigation, is also affecting the industry”. He further added that the Ministry of Industries and Productions should take notice of this harassing and irresponsible behavior of CCP.

Press Release

December 4, 2020 (MLN): Domestic equities remained bullish throughout the day today, amid a buying spell, mainly witnessed in blue-chip stocks, especially in E&Ps and Banking sectors. Closing on 42,207 points level, KSE – 100 gained 150 points on Friday, or up by 0.38% from previous close.

Over the week, KSE-100 gained 1,400 points or up by 3.4% WoW and closed at its highest values since Sep 18, 2020.

Speaking of today’s performance, the Index remained positive throughout the session touching an intraday high of 42,316.17

Of the 97 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 62 closed up 32 closed down, while 3 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 237.17 million shares.

Sectors propping up the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 61 points, Commercial Banks with 57 points, Technology & Communication with 31 points, Engineering with 10 points and Refinery with 8 points.

The most points added to the index was by OGDC which contributed 38 points followed by TRG with 26 points, UBL with 15 points, PPL with 12 points and HMB with 11 points.

Sector wise, the index was let down by Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 16 points, Fertilizer with 12 points, Automobile Assembler with 4 points, Transport with 4 points and Automobile Parts & Accessories with 2 points.

The most points taken off the index was by FFC which stripped the index of 12 points followed by MTL with 11 points, SNGP with 8 points, PSO with 7 points and EFERT with 6 points.

All Share Volume increased by 7.59 Million to 427.91 Million Shares. Market Cap increased by Rs.30.84 Billion.

Total companies traded were 409 compared to 400 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 234 closed up, 151 closed down while 24 remained unchanged.

Total trades decreased by 17,679 to 132,936.

Value Traded increased by 0.12 Billion to Rs.18.15 Billion

Copyright Mettis Link News

December 04, 2020: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) marks the World Competition Day on 5th December 2020 with the theme, “Enhancing Economic Efficiency of SMEs” with the resolve to play an active role under its mandate to strengthen and support the small and medium enterprises through policy and advocacy initiatives.

On 5th December 2010, the International Network of Civil Society Organization on Competition (INCSOC) announced and proposed the first World Competition Day. Subsequently, each year, the world’s competition community celebrates 5th December as the World Competition Day by holding events, issuing statements and taking other outreach measures with the intention to support consumers and promote fair play in the market. This year’s international theme is “Competition Policy and Access to Healthcare.”

The Competition Law of Pakistan is a pro-business, pro-growth statute and the Commission believes in stimulating economic performance and creating a level playing field by eradicating market distortions and eliminating entry barriers. The competition encourages businesses to compete to continuously look for better ways to satisfy their consumer base with improved quality, durability, service, and price which come to fruition in innovation. This in result, enhances the economic efficiency of businesses and particularly enables the small businesses to compete and grow.

The SME sector is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and there is still a lot of potential for growth and innovation. The CCP realizes that the SME sector deserves a special focus in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and its sustenance will depend on the support it gets from the relevant quarters. The CCP encourages all efforts geared at ensuring a sustainable growth of SMEs and will endeavor to contribute under its mandate through issuing policy guidelines and taking advocacy initiatives for their benefit.

CCP is working to coordinate with jurisdictions where competition agencies have contributed, directly or indirectly, towards enhancing the economic efficiency of SMEs, both in the COVID-19 situation and before.

Press Release

December 04, 2020 (MLN): The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group decreased by 0.23% during the week ended Dec 03, 2020 while the SPI increased by 8.14% compared to the corresponding period from last year.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the Combined Index was at 141.41 compared to 141.74 on Nov 26, 2020 while the index was recorded at 130.77 a year ago, on Dec 05, 2019

Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 17 items increased, 13 items decreased whereas 21 items registered no change during the week.

The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI decreased across all quantiles ranging between 0.76% and 0.06%.

The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly decrease of 0.76% while the highest income group recorded a decrease of 0.06%.

On an yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 7.31% and 9.7%.

Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 9.7% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 7.31%.

The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs.1689 per 50 kg bag which is 0.18% higher than last week’s price and 15.84% lower when compared to last year.

Meanwhile, average Cement price was recorded at Rs.576 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.52% higher than the previous week and 1.23% higher than prices last year.

Copyright Mettis Link News