Author: Finance for Sight

Canada’s main stock index recouped early losses to rise on Friday, as investors parsed domestic and U.S. employment data, but remained on track for its biggest weekly fall since September 2023. At 10:45 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.2% to 24,635.20. For the week, the index was still set to fall 3%. The benchmark lost 1.2% on Thursday. Throughout the week, investors faced a tumultuous ride with trade uncertainties. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect. But on Thursday, Trump announced a temporary exemption for goods…

DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Tehran will not be bullied into negotiations, a day after US President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to the country’s top authority to negotiate a nuclear deal. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Khamenei said the aim of Washington’s offer for negotiations was to “impose their own expectations”, Iranian state media reported. “The insistence of some…

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the final session of the week with a gain of nearly 700 points. The bourse maintained a positive trend throughout the trading session, with the benchmark index hitting an intra-day high of 114,721.58. At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 114,398.69 level, an increase of 685.52 points or 0.6%. Buying was observed in key sectors including commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, NRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB and NBP traded in…

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it conducted an air strike on Saturday in the Gaza Strip targeting several people attempting to retrieve a drone that had crossed into the Palestinian territory. According to the military, the drone had flown from Israeli territory before being targeted by an Israeli aircraft in south Gaza. “An IAF aircraft struck the drone and several suspects who collected it in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement. The military has previously stated that drones have been used to smuggle weapons into the territory. On Friday, the military conducted an air strike…

GAZA CITY: Hamas accused Israel Saturday of “committing the war crime of collective punishment” by halting aid to Gaza for a seventh day, saying it also impacted Israeli hostages still held there. On Sunday, Israel announced it was blocking aid deliveries to Gaza until Palestinian fighters accepted its terms for an extension of the ceasefire which had largely halted more than 15 months of fighting. The first phase of the truce, which ended on March 1, had enabled the entry of vital food, shelter and medical assistance. Under the first phase, Gaza fighters handed over 25 living hostages and eight…

Pakistan’s chief crypto advisor Bilal bin Saqib has said that the Pakistan Crypto Council recognises the country’s strong position as one of the top 10 nations globally in crypto adoption and that the council will work to recognise crypto as a strategic asset. As Pakistan moves toward formalising its stance on cryptocurrency, the government on Wednesday announced the appointment of Bilal bin Saqib as the Chief Advisor to the Finance Minister for the Pakistan Crypto Council. Bilal’s appointment “marks a significant step forward in Pakistan’s commitment to embracing the transformative potential of digital currencies, ensuring financial security, mitigating risks, and…

SEOUL: Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from detention on Saturday after a court voided his arrest on procedural grounds – but he remains under investigation over his declaration of martial law. The suspended president, who was detained in a dawn raid in January on insurrection charges over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, walked out of the detention centre smiling, before bowing deeply before a small crowd of cheering supporters. “I bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation,” Yoon said in a statement released through his lawyers. A court had…

After jumping in the previous session, gold prices in Pakistan decreased, in line with their fall in international rates. In the local market, gold price per tola clocked in at Rs306,000 after it declined by Rs1,000 on Saturday. As per rates shared by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), 10-gram gold was sold at Rs262,345 after it registered a decrease of Rs858. On Friday, gold price per tola increased by Rs3,000 to settle at Rs307,000 in Pakistan. The international rate of gold increased on Saturday. As per APGJSA, the rate was at $2,910 per ounce (with a premium…

JERUSALEM: More than 50 freed Israeli hostages urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fully implement the Gaza ceasefire deal and secure the release of those still held in the Palestinian territory. “We who have experienced the inferno know that a return to war is life-threatening for those still left behind,” a group of 56 freed hostages said in a letter posted on the social media platform Instagram on Friday evening. “Implement the agreement in full, in one single manoeuvre.” Among those to sign the letter was Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons died while held captive in Gaza.…

GENEVA: The UN envoy for Syria voiced alarm Friday at reports of clashes and killings in coastal areas between Syrian caretaker authority forces and elements loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “While the situation remains fluid and we are still determining the precise facts, there is clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties,” Geir Pedersen said in a statement. He also called for “full respect for the protection of civilians in accordance with international law”. His comment came after the fiercest attacks on the new authorities since Assad was ousted in December. The Syrian Observatory for Human…