Volatile trading at bourse, KSE-100 sheds nearly 700 points
- Benchmark index settles at 170,478.94
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's KSE-100 Index continued its upward trend on Friday, gaining over 500 points, driven by buying in key sectors, despite a broader slide in Asian markets.
- Key sectors and stocks driving PSX gains.
- International market performance and factors influencing Asian shares.
- Middle East hostilities and US-Iran negotiations.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the week lower by nearly 700 points.
During the day, the market traded within a wide range of 1,848 points, touching an intraday high of 172,102.91 points before slipping to a low of 170,254.64 points.
Selling pressure intensified in the latter half of the session, erasing early gains and dragging the index into negative territory by the end.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 170,478.94, down by 696.56 points or 0.41%.
On Thursday, PSX extended its gains as cautious optimism surrounding a potential diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran encouraged selective buying in heavyweight stocks, helping the benchmark index close firmly in positive territory.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 984.86 points, or 0.58%, to close at 171,175.51 points.
Internationally, Asian share markets slid on Friday as investors took profits on technology stocks and turned defensive ahead of the weekend, wary of a flare-up in Middle East hostilities amid U.S.-Iran peace talks remaining in limbo.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday, and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country, undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to halt fighting there and reach a peace deal with Tehran.
Meanwhile, an AI-driven rally that boosted stocks earlier in the week fizzled out as chipmaker Broadcom reported underwhelming results.
All that left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 1.6% in early Asia trade. South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi slid more than 6% and Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3%.
Nasdaq futures fell 1% and S&P 500 futures eased 0.5%, after a mixed session on Wall Street overnight. EUROSTOXX 50 futures dipped 0.2%, while DAX futures lost 0.5% and FTSE futures were flat.
Oil prices were little changed on Friday as traders awaited more clarity on U.S.-Iran negotiations, though were set for a weekly gain as hostilities earlier in the week raised concerns of a prolonged energy shock.
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