Stocks remain robust, KSE-100 gains nearly 1,300 points

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,300 points during trading session on Friday.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 161,935.19, up by 1,277.69 points or 0.80%.

“This positivity can be attributed to approval of the 27th Amendment by the National Assembly, which clarified the political outlook and eased recent investor`s concern,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Top positive contribution to the index came from HBL, UBL, MLCF, OGDC and PPL, as they cumulatively contributed 514 points to the index, it added.

On the corporate front, the warring Board of Directors of K-Electric on Thursdau put off its meeting after one group walked out of the meeting after approval of the first item of the proposed agenda, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

The primary intention of directors representing the government and AsiaPak was to make a decision regarding the removal of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi. The recent activities of some KE Board members have irritated Al-Jomaih Group of Saudi Arabia, which has already sent a legal notice of $2 billion to Islamabad.

On Thursday, PSX maintained its bullish trajectory with the benchmark index closing sharply higher as investor confidence strengthened on renewed optimism following merger and acquisition developments in the cement sector.

The KSE-100 Index advanced decisively, ending the session at 160,657.50 points after gaining 2,473.55 points or 1.56%.

Internationally, Asian shares joined a global selloff on Friday as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials doused hopes for a US rate cut next month, while a still messy data calendar added to the angst, hitting bonds, the dollar and even gold.

Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.8% on Friday, Australia’s resources-heavy shares slid 1.5%, while South Korea plunged 2.3%.

China will report its monthly activity figures later in the day, after weak lending data flagged concerns from households and businesses to take on more debt amid economic uncertainties.

Overnight, Wall Street tumbled with steep losses in Nvidia and other AI heavyweights on valuation concerns, while Treasuries retreated as investors scaled back expectations of a rate cut from the Fed in December to just 51%, down from 63% a day earlier.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee maintained its positive trajectory against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 280.72, a gain of Re0.04 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 673.45 million from 797.18 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares declined to Rs34.65 billion from Rs35.12 billion in the previous session.

Pace (Pak) Ltd was the volume leader with 51.75 million shares, followed by F.Nat.Equities with 37.67 million shares, and B.O.Punjab with 36.99 million shares.

Shares of 480 companies were traded on Friday, of which 276 registered an increase, 155 recorded a fall, and 49 remained unchanged.