After days of selling pressure, optimism returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 1,400 points during the opening hours of trading on Wednesday.
At 9:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 117,501.73, an increase of 1,449.05 points or 1.25%.
Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including NRL, PRL, HUBCO, PSO, SHEL, SSGC, MARI, OGDC, PPL, ENGRO, MCB, MEBL, and NBP, traded in the green.
“We think overall market sentiment remains positive, as most top-down risks have eased off,” said Intermarket Securities, in a note on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, PSX remained under pressure and closed in red zone due to selling as the investors opted to offload their holdings on available margins. The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 202.44 points or 0.17% and closed at 116,052.68 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks drifted lower on Wednesday. A robust dollar kept the yen pinned near six-month lows, as traders wagered the Federal Reserve would likely be slow in cutting rates after data showed the US economy and labour market remained stable.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, fell 0.2%, with Japan’s Nikkei, down 0.8%. On Wall Street, all three main indexes finished lower as the data stoked worries of a rebound in inflation.
China’s blue chip CSI300 Index, was 0.3% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, slid 0.55% in early trading.
The yen was last at 157.98 per dollar after touching 158.425 on Tuesday, a level last seen in July when Tokyo intervened to support the yen. It slid more than 10% last year against the dollar and has had a rough start to 2025.
Investor focus in 2025 has been on shifting US rate expectations, the growing divergence in policy path between US and other economies and the threat of tariffs once President-elect Donald Trump steps into the White House on Jan. 20.
The Fed in December projected just two rate cuts for 2025, lower than the four it had earlier predicted.
Markets are currently pricing in 38 basis point of easing this year with the first cut from the Fed fully priced in for July.
This is an intra-day update
Source: Brecorder
