Positive momentum persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), following a worldwide bull run sparked after a US court blocked President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling near the 119,000 level on Thursday.
Buying was observed throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 119,639.47.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 118,971.40, an increase of 638.50 points or 0.54%.
“The benchmark index closed on a positive note, as investors began positioning themselves, reflecting cautious optimism ahead of further clarity on fiscal measures,” said Ismail Iqbal Securities.
Across the board buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, SNGPL, SSGC, MCB, MEBL and NBP traded in the green.
On Tuesday, the PSX witnessed a slight recovery amid speculations in the pre-budget session and hopes for a real estate package in the federal budget led to cement stocks.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 112 points or 0.09 percent, settling at 118,333 points. The stock market was closed on Wednesday on account of the Yaum-e-Takbeer holiday.
Globally, Asian shares and Wall Street futures jumped in Asia on Thursday after a US federal court blocked President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs from going into effect, sending the dollar up on safe haven currencies.
The little-known Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy.
The White House quickly appealed the decision, and could take it all the way to the Supreme Court if needed, but in the meantime, it offered some hope that Trump might back away from the highest tariff levels he had threatened.
Investors reacted by embracing equities and Japan’s Nikkei quickly rose 1.7%, while South Korean shares gained 1.2% to a nine-month top.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.3%, while Chinese blue chips firmed 0.5%.
The ripples were felt worldwide as EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 1.1%, while FTSE futures gained 0.7% and DAX futures 0.9%.
S&P 500 futures climbed 1.6%, while Nasdaq futures rose 1.9%. The latter had already been lifted by relief over earnings from Nvidia, which beat sales estimates.
The chipmaker and AI darling also projected strong revenues for the current quarter, sending its shares up 4.4% after hours.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered gains against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 282.07, a gain of Re0.10 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 741.65 million from 690.39 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs23.91 billion from Rs23.83 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 137.52 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 119.63 million shares, and P.T.C.L with 65.68 million shares.
Shares of 466 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 268 registered an increase, 159 recorded a fall, while 39 remained unchanged.
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