Buying returns to bourse, KSE-100 gains nearly 500 points

After days of profit-taking, buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled with a gain of nearly 500 points on Friday.

Positive momentum persisted through most of the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 160,435.94. However, selling was observed during the final hours of trading, trimming much of the intra-day gains.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 159,592.90, a gain of 496.12 points or 0.31%.

Top positive contribution to the index came from MARI, UBL, MEBL, PPL, NBP & MCB, as they cumulatively contributed 474 points to the index, brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

In a key development, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet was scheduled to meet on Friday to decide a high-stakes economic agenda, including approval of a massive government guarantee worth Rs659.6 billion for power sector financing, tariff rationalisation for nuclear plants, and a new gas pricing plan for fertiliser manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s remittance inflows clocked in at $3.4 billion in October 2025, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Friday.

On Thursday, the PSX closed lower as profit-taking and muted investor sentiment weighed on overall market performance. The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by 481.40 points, or 0.3%, to close at 159,096.79 points.

Globally, tech-heavy stock markets were bracing for their heaviest weekly falls in seven months on Friday as investors have turned uneasy about how far the rally in artificial intelligence stocks has run, while safer assets such as bonds and the yen went higher.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were a touch firmer in the Asia morning, but overnight the Nasdaq dropped 1.9%.

For the week so far, the world’s biggest tech index is down 2.8%, which, if sustained, would mark its largest one-week drop since March and a jolt for a juggernaut that has gained more than 50% from lows touched when tariffs were announced in April.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.8% in morning trade to head for a weekly loss of 4.7%, the largest since late March, while in Seoul the Kospi fell 1.4% for a 3.3% weekly fall, its worst since late March.

Chip and cable makers were among the biggest losers, with tech investor Softbank Group Corp down more than 20% this week. Bitcoin, sometimes a bellwether for tech sentiment, is down 8% on the week to $101,092.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continued to gain further ground against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 280.82, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 768.83 million from 957.30 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs30.73 billion from Rs30.45 billion in the previous session.

F. Nat.Equities was the volume leader with 85.91 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 78.13 million shares, and Pace (Pak) Ltd with 47.52 million shares.

Shares of 479 companies were traded on Friday, of which 228 registered an increase, 203 recorded a fall, and 48 remained unchanged.