Persistent buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing 109,000 for the first time in history after a gain of nearly 800 points during intra-day trading.
At 12pm, the mid-session break, the benchmark index was at 109,037.98, an increase of 799.02 points or 0.74%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, OMCs, and oil and gas exploration companies. Index-heavy stocks including PPL, MARI, SSGC, SNGP, MCB, NBP, UBL and DFML traded in the green.
The positive trend is fuelled by heightened investor confidence and robust market sentiment surrounding expectations of a substantial rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, scheduled for December 16, 2024.
On Thursday, the bull run continued as the KSE-100 hit a record high with impressive gains on the back of interest of local investors coupled with institutional support.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 3,134.63 points or 2.98% and closed at its highest level of 108,238.97.
In a key development, Saudi Arabia extended the term of its $3 billion deposits with Pakistan for an additional year to further support Pakistan’s economy.
The deposits placed with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) matured on Thursday, however, at the federal government’s request, Saudi Arabia has announced the extension of its term for another year.
Globally, Asian stocks slipped on Friday on political ructions in South Korea, while US dollar bulls waited anxiously to see if US payrolls challenged or cemented expectations of a rate cut this month.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3% in part due to a 1.7% drop in South Korea’s KOSPI.
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party said on Friday lawmakers were on standby after receiving many reports of another martial law declaration, the Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.
In other places, China’s blue chips rose 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4%.
This is an intra-day update
Source: Brecorder
