After days of selling pressure, buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 400 points during the opening hours of trading on Friday.
At 10:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 110,736.78 level, an increase of 435.62 points or 0.39%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including cement, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, fertilizer and automobile assemblers. Index-heavy stocks including HCAR, DGKC, MEBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, SHEL, SSGC and SNGPL traded in the green.
“Many stocks have reached attractive levels and we may see the downtrend reversing soon,” said Intermarket Securities in a note on Friday.
Selling continued at the PSX on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the day lower by over 1,600 points to settle at 110,301.16.
Internationally, Asian stocks inched up on Friday ahead of key US payrolls data as investors considered prospects that a broader trade war could be averted, while the yen hit its highest in nearly two months on rising odds of more rate hikes in Japan this year.
In a week that started with US President Donald Trump kicking off a trade war, first by imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada and then pausing them, investors have been hesitant in making major moves as threatened duties on China were implemented.
Beijing’s measured tit-for-tat response has left room for negotiations, analysts say, and that has allowed traders to focus on the AI theme in Asia in the wake of Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek’s breakthrough.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.17% on Friday, poised for an over 3% rise in the week, its strongest weekly performance since early October when investors were enthused by the prospect of big stimulus plans from Chinese authorities.
China’s blue-chip stock index rose 0.8% leaving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.3% for the day.
This is an intra-day update
Source: Brecorder
