Friday marked a day of consolidation after Kse-100 index succumbed to Profit taking and closed at 42,530.67 points after losing 166.68 points. The consolidation on Friday, followed a week of a volatile trading sessions as investors responded to series of economic and political news. Investors welcomed a much wanted Rs1.1 trillion Karachi package announced by the federal government. The package was aimed at addressing the inveterate problems of the city. However, the political baggage of the package marred the confidence, as Sindh’s ruling party Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf led government in Islamabad remained at odds. Moreover, sentiments were also lifted following a discovery of 1 Trillion Cubic Feet (tcf) in Kalat, Balochistan by state owned multinational petroleum company Pakistan Petroleum Limited. Experts expect, the reserve size to bring a new life to Pakistan Exploration & Production space, as no significant discovery has been announced in the recent past. On Friday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed a volatile session throughout the day, with Index marking its intraday high at 42,869.69 after gaining 222.34 points, however, after losing 189.82 points the index also touched intraday low at 42,457.53. The index volumes receded from 498.61 million shares recorded in the previous session to 309.72 million shares, while the overall market volumes also decreased from 884.96 million shares recorded in the previous session to 526.19 million shares. The volume chart was led by Hascol Petroleum Limited, followed by Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited td and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited. The scrips exchanged 61.14 million, 54.64 million and 25.75 million shares, respectively. Sectors which dented the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 60 points, Cement with 54 points, Food & Personal Care Products with 26 points, Refinery with 10 points and Textile Composite with 9 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Pakistan Petroleum Limited which stripped the index of 40 points followed by Lucky Cement Limited with 26 points, NESTLE with 17 points, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited with 14 points and Engro Fertilizers Limited with 13 points. However, sectors which continue to resist the pressure, and added value to the index were Commercial Banks with 33 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 24 points, Fertilizer with 24 points, Automobile Assembler with 11 points and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 11 points. Among the scrips, most points added to the index was by United Bank Limited which contributed 31 points followed by ENGRO with 29 points, Hub Power Company Limited with 23 points, Hascol Petroleum Limited with 12 points and Habib Bank Limited with 12 points. Global markets: Global stocks continue to make some recovery despite mounting uncertainty over Covid-19 vaccine. Investors are treading cautiously after AstraZeneca Plc paused a late-stage trial of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine candidates due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. The delay in the vaccine raises fear of another wave of covid-19 and dims any chance of revival of economic activity. However, investors have largely withdrawn from the European markets, as investors monitored tense negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union over Brexit. U.K. and the EU are currently trying to reach a trade agreement before the end of the transition period on December 31, with the U.K. set to go onto World Trade Organization rules if no agreement is reached. However, on Thursday, EU urged the U.K. to abandon its plan to renege on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and threatened legal action, but U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has vowed to press ahead with its Internal Market Bill, despite acknowledgment that the move violates international law. In Asia, stocks advanced across the board with Chinese stocks leading the gains, as Shanghai composite closed up 0.79% to around 3,260.3, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index which gained 0.78% to end its trading day at 24,503.31. In Japan, Nikkei 225 also followed the trend and gained 0.74% to 23,406.49 while South Korea’s Kospi index remained flat and closed at 2,396.69. In Europe, markets traded around the flat line with banking stock falling 1.2% to lead losses, while mining stocks jumped 1.6%. Among major bourses, UK’s FTSE-100 gained 0.30% while CAC-40 in France closed near the flat line. However, Germany’s DAX index posted losses, and closed fractionally lower. In U.S, stocks continue to make recovery for the third consecutive day as tech stocks once again attempted to rebound from its recent slump. During the early trading hours, Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 183 points higher, while S&P 500 was trading 0.5% higher. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite was also posting some early gains, and was trading 0.2% higher.