Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extend its gains into third consecutive day to end the week, as equity investors reacted to global oil price surge. On Friday,the benchmark kse-100 clocked at 42,470.39 index level after gaining 164.55 points by the closing bell, taking the total cumulative gains for the week at368.61 points. On Friday, the index remained positive throughout the session as the benchmark KSE-100 Index toucheditsintraday at 42,628.01 after accumulating 322.17. The modest rally was led by the exploration & production stocks following the rise in oil price, as global benchmark Brent crude hit $50/ barrel for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic ground the global economy to a halt. Overnight, the global benchmark futures surged 2.8% to reach a nine-month high. The market sentiments were also cemented by the State bank of Pakistan’s data revealed on Friday, according to which workers’ remittances, crossed the $2-billion mark for the sixth consecutive month in November.Workers’ remittances increased 28.4 percent year-on-year to $2.34 billion in November 2020, pushing the cumulative flows to $11.8 billion during the July-November FY21, with a rise of 26.9pc compared to same period last year. Inflation data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also supported the investors’ sentiments, as weekly inflation for the combined group during the period ended on December 10 recorded a decrease of 0.26 per cent due to a decline in prices of essential food items. The rising political noise in the country, however, kept the stock rally in check as the market closely followed the developments on the political front, as opposition led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has ramped up the political temperatures in the country by decided to resign en masse from the National Assembly of Pakistan. Moreover, investors treaded cautiously ahead of PDM’s Lahore political mass gathering, due to be held on December 13, which will reveal its future strategy. During the session foreign investors remained net sellers of worth $5.4 million worth of equities. Local investors remained net buyers during the day, withBanks leading the buying chart, as they raked in $1.8 million worth of equities, followed by Mutual Funds with $1.27million worth of equities and Insurance Companies with $1.51 million worth of equities. The volume at Kse-100 index increased from 208 million shares from the previous session to 302 million shares, while the over-all market volumes also surgedfrom 472.36 million shares in the previous session to 557.61 million shares. The volume chart was led by Pakistan Refinary Limited followed by Azgard Nine Limited and Unity Foods Limited. The scrips exchanged 84.82 million, 35.32 million and 35.20 million shares. Sectors, which lifted the index, were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 117 points, Textile Composite with 33 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 26 points, Refinery with 15 points and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 14 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Oil &Gas Development Company Limited which contributed 43 points followed by Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 27 points, Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 24 points, Mari Petroleum Company Limited with 23 points and Hub Power Company Limited with 21 points. However, sectors which dented the index were Technology & Communication with 33 points, Commercial Banks with 32 points, Chemical with 7 points, Transport with 6 points and Tobacco with 6 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Muslim Commercial Bank which stripped the index of 32 points followed by TRG Pakistan Limited with 28 points, Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited with 10 points, Bank Alfalah Limited with 10 points and Habib Metropolitan Bank Limitedwith 7 points. Global Markets: U.S stimulus package and Brexit qualms weighs down stocks Global stock markets pulled back on Friday as investors weigh stalled U.S. fiscal stimulus talks and the rapidly approaching deadline for Brexit negotiations. In Asia, stocks traded mixed during the day as investors treaded cautiously over rising uncertainty. Chinese and Japanese shares recorded the losses during the day, as benchmark index Shanghai compositewas down 0.77% at 3,347.19, while Japan’s Nikkei 225declined 0.39% to 26,652.52. However, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.86% to 2,770.06 after Government data released Friday showed the country’s exports in the first 10 days of December jumped 26.9% from a year ago thanks to a sales boost in major products such as semiconductors. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also advanced 0.36% in afternoon trade. European stocks were subdued across the board as during the day, the pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.74%, with telecoms shedding 2.6% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory. Among the major regional markets, Germany’s DAX edged down by over 1% to lead the losses, followed by UK’s FTSE-100 and CAC-40 in France, each lost 0.56% and 0.47%. In U.S, Wall Street also witnessed cautious trading as the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell on Friday, on pace for their first weekly loss in three weeks, as the outlook for additional fiscal stimulus remained uncertain. Dow traded 0.4% lower, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.5%. The tech heavyNasdaq Composite also dipped 0.6%. Friday’s Wall Street decline came as negotiations over a covid-19 relief deal dragged on. The U.S Lawmakers seek to pass a bill before lifelines expire at the end of 2020, but the talk between the republican and democrat s shave ben stalled as disagreements over state and local stimulus, unemployment assistance and stimulus checks persist. A delay in the stimulus package will bereft millions of Americans from unemployment benefits in the new year. The crisis looms as weekly jobless claims jumped last week to 853,000, the highest total since Sept. 19.