PakStox Outlook

Mari Petroleum Company Limited (PSX:MARI) - Annual Financial Results as of June 30, 2024 For the year ending June 2024, MARI earned a net income of Rs. 579.4 per share and declared a total cash dividend of Rs. 232 per share.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond has climbed back to nearly 3.9% on Wednesday, recovering from a recent low. This increase follows a weaker-than-expected jobs report that had initially raised concerns about a potential recession and fueled speculation of an emergency interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. However, market sentiment has shifted as investors now believe the Fed may not need to intervene as aggressively.

WTI crude oil futures climbed above $75 per barrel, extending their upward momentum following an EIA report that revealed a bigger-than-expected decline in US crude oil inventories. Crude stocks dropped for the sixth consecutive week, falling by 3.728 million barrels, significantly more than the anticipated 0.4 million barrel decrease.

China's exports increased by 7% year-over-year in July, falling short of the expected 9.7% rise and slowing down from the 8.6% growth seen in June. Conversely, imports rose by 7.2%, exceeding the anticipated 3.5% and recovering from the previous 2.3% decline. Consequently, the trade surplus reached $84.7 billion, which, while lower than the forecasted $99 billion, was still higher than last year's $80 billion.

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 12.4% to close at 31,458, and the Topix Index fell 12.23% to 2,227 on Monday, both hitting nine-month lows. This marked the worst one-day decline for Japanese shares since "Black Monday" in 1987, pushing them into bear market territory. The sell-off was driven by concerns over potential interest rate hikes in Japan, following the Bank of Japan's recent policy rate increase to 0.25% and indications of further hikes expected before March 2025.