Buying observed at PSX, KSE-100 up 600 points in early trade
- Benchmark index was hovering at 178,345.60
Buying activity was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday.
At 10:05am, the benchmark index was hovering at 178,345.60, up by 652.68 points or 0.37%.
Buying momentum was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including KE, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, NBP and UBL, traded in the green.
On Tuesday, the PSX remained under pressure as investors stayed cautious amid uncertainty surrounding regional geopolitical developments, while profit-taking and other index-heavy sectors extended losses for a second consecutive session.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed in the red, shedding 778.95 points, or 0.44%, to settle at 177,692.92 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks were wobbly on Wednesday, a day after a global selloff in technology and semiconductor shares, with analysts cautioning about the risk of renewed volatility.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.02%. South Korean shares, which plunged 10% on Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, jumped 2.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei was swinging between gains and losses, last down 0.8%.
Risk-off sentiment swept Wall Street overnight, tracking moves in Europe and Asia. U.S. stocks fell on concerns about rising debt-funded AI spending and speculation that the Federal Reserve could adopt a more hawkish stance, while Treasury yields declined as investors sought the safety of government debt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.09%, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.41 basis points to 4.493%.
Oil prices extended this week’s losses, trading near four-month lows hit in the previous session, on signs that more oil tankers stranded in the Gulf since the start of the Iran war are set to move out of the Strait of Hormuz.
This is an intraday update
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