KSE-100 Index gains 1% as buying momentum continues

Positive momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1% on Thursday.

The market opened on a positive note and quickly advanced above 181,500 during early trade.

Profit-taking then emerged, causing the index to gradually retreat throughout the morning. Selling pressure intensified around mid-day, dragging the benchmark to an intra-day low of 180,626.92.

However, buying interest returned after noon, with investors accumulating shares across key sectors.

The recovery gathered pace during the afternoon, pushing the index steadily higher, which hit an intra-day high of 182,007.03 during the final hour of trading.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 181,776.59, up by 1,761.66 points or 0.98%.

“Improved investor sentiment was supported by easing geopolitical concerns and renewed institutional participation,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“The market has now recovered nearly 4,700 points over the past two sessions, reversing a significant portion of the losses recorded earlier this week. The sharp rebound was fuelled by improving risk appetite as concerns over Middle East tensions eased, while lower oil price volatility encouraged buying in cyclical sectors,” it added.

On the positive side, UBL, MARI, FFC, LUCK, and BAHL emerged as the top contributors to the benchmark index, collectively adding approximately 717 points to the KSE-100 Index, Topline said.

On Wednesday, the PSX staged a powerful recovery with the KSE-100 Index reclaiming the psychologically significant 180,000 after 16 trading sessions, as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a sharp decline in international crude oil prices fueled broad-based buying across key sectors.

Globally, Asian shares took a breather on Thursday after an AI-driven surge the previous day, while oil prices traded in a tight range as markets assessed prospects for an Iran peace deal.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.69%, led by declines in tech firms. South Korean shares dropped 3.64% while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.57%.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics fell 2.44% and peer SK Hynix lost 6.95%. In Tokyo, Kioxia plunged 9.61%, ​while Tokyo Electron slumped 4.61%.

The pullback followed a weaker session on Wall Street overnight, where the Nasdaq ended a days-long ​winning streak as shares of Elon Musk-led SpaceX and Advanced Micro Devices stumbled after their quarterly earnings.

Although the AI and satellite company highlighted faster-than-expected returns from its AI spending, investors remained concerned about how long its profitable Starlink business could ​continue to bankroll costly investments in data centres.

And while AMD’s results beat analysts’ estimates, they fell short of investors’ lofty expectations.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar on Thursday. The local unit closed the day at 277.72, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 793.35 million from 740.56 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs40.31 billion from Rs35.91 billion in the previous session.

B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 66.02 million shares, followed by Unity Foods Ltd with 62.51 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 56.22 million shares.

Shares of 495 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 283 registered an increase, 180 recorded a fall, and 32 remained unchanged.