After an initial bout of positive momentum, selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 500 points during the second half of the trading session on Friday.
The KSE-100 witnessed some buying at the start of the session, hitting an intra-day high of 110,848.82.
However, the bears regained momentum and by 2:45pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 109,840.05 level, a decrease of 461.11 points or 0.42%.
“Many stocks have reached attractive levels and we may see the downtrend reversing soon,” said Intermarket Securities in a note, earlier 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
