Buying continues at PSX, KSE-100 Index gains nearly 1,200 points

Buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,200 points on Thursday.

The market opened on a weak note, with the index dropping to an intra-day low of 171,541.04 during early trading hours. However, the decline proved short-lived as strong buying interest emerged soon helping the index recover sharply.

During the mid-session, the benchmark index maintained an overall upward trajectory as the index climbed steadily and touched an intra-day high of 173,274.54 points.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 172,894.27, up by 1,189.52 points or 0.69%.

“The local bourse opened on a positive note, carrying forward the bullish momentum from the previous session as the benchmark index climbed to an intra-day high of 1,569 points. However, profit-taking during the mid-session triggered volatility, trimming a significant portion of the early gains and dragging the index to an intra-day low of 163 points,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Index-heavy stocks, including UBL, FFC, LUCK, OGDC, and MARI, remained the key drivers of the rally, collectively contributing 735 points to the benchmark index, Topline said.

“The momentum continues as global and domestic factors align in favour of the bulls,” said Behtari Capital.

On Wednesday, PSX witnessed a powerful bullish session as easing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, coupled with a sharp decline in global oil prices, triggered aggressive buying across the board, significantly lifting investor sentiment. The KSE-100 surged by 6,962.29 points or 4.23% to close at 171,704.76 points.

Globally, Asian stocks soared to record highs on Thursday while the US dollar slipped and oil nursed steep ​losses as traders embraced the prospect of a peace deal in the Middle East, although the fate of the critical Strait of ‌Hormuz remains unresolved.

Japan’s Nikkei returned from a long holiday to cross 62,000 for the first time, catching up on a blistering AI-led rally after robust earnings that have also catapulted South Korean and Taiwan stocks to records.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1%, hitting another all-time high. The index is up 7% so far this ​week.

Iran said it was reviewing a peace proposal that sources said would formally end the war ​while leaving unresolved the key U.S. demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has sent oil prices surging.

A ​potential deal to end the war, which started at the end of February, sent oil prices sliding nearly 8% on Wednesday. Brent crude was a touch higher at $102.11 a barrel in early Asian hours on Thursday.

Federal Reserve officials said the war is raising the risk of ‌a sustained ⁠inflation shock, with continued high oil prices and developing concerns about problems with global supply chains.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar during trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.71, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 986.97 million from 1,202.17 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs52.70 billion from Rs63.00 billion in the previous session.

B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 86.33 million shares, followed by F. Nat.Equities with 65.96 million shares, and Hascol Petrol with 44.74 million shares.

Shares of 490 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 290 registered an increase, 165 recorded a fall, and 35 remained unchanged.