PSX: KSE-100 ends trading on a positive note

Another volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing with a gain of over 400 points amid late buying on Tuesday.

The session started strong with the index hitting an intra-day high of 177,775.70 shortly after the opening bell. However, selling pressure emerged through the mid-session, dragging the index down to its day low of 176,577.14 in the early afternoon.

However, the benchmark index climbed steadily from the low and reclaimed positive territory, ending near the day’s high.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 177,370.70, up 404.02 points or 0.23%.

“The market remained volatile throughout the session, with the index recovering from early weakness as selective buying emerged across key sectors,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“Investor participation remained cautious, with buying interest concentrated in selected blue-chip and cyclical stocks. The broader market continued to face resistance around the 178,000 level, keeping the near-term outlook range-bound.”

On the positive side, UBL, MEBL, FFC, HBL, and LUCK were among the key contributors, collectively adding approximately 667 points to the KSE-100 Index. Conversely, OGDC, ENGROH, and SYS were among the major laggards, collectively shaving approximately 201 points off the index, Topline said.

In a key development, Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) on Monday upgraded the Government of Pakistan’s local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to B3 from Caa1.

On Monday, late-session profit-taking in heavyweight stocks erased most of the PSX’s early gains, leaving the benchmark KSE-100 Index marginally lower in a volatile session, while selective buying in oil and gas and cement stocks provided support and prevented a deeper market decline. The KSE-100 Index declined by 199.84 points, or 0.11%, to close at 176,966.69 points.

Globally, Asian shares slipped on Tuesday while oil prices extended losses, after threats from the US ​for an “economic D-Day” of sanctions on Iran turned out to be a damp squib.

US Treasury yields were off their recent highs ‌following a report that the Treasury Department might tap into its cash account to finance increased debt buybacks, which could reduce the need for additional sales of short-term bills.

The tech sector is holding its breath for Nvidia’s results on Wednesday; investors are aware of how hard it will be for the chipmaker to meet lofty expectations.

Analysts are generally looking for quarterly revenue ​to almost double to around $92 billion, with full-year earnings guidance seen in a range of $103 billion to $105 billion.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5%, ​while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.9% and South Korea’s Kospi slid 2.7%.

Also weighing on tech sentiment was Alibaba’s launch of a $10.2 billion share sale at a steep discount to fund its AI ambitions, as well as disappointment over Samsung Electronics’ shareholder-return plan.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains, appreciating 0.01%, against the US dollar on Tuesday. The local unit closed the day at 277.52, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 644.84 million from 933.52 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs31.36 billion from Rs44.10 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 177.90 million shares, followed by F. Nat.Equities with 79.30 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 43.03 million shares.

Shares of 499 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 223 registered an increase, 229 recorded a fall, and 47 remained unchanged.