PSX: KSE-100 opens marginally higher, adds nearly 700 points

Buying was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 700 points during trading on Wednesday.

At 12:50pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,146.95, up 686.85 points or 0.41%.

Key sectors saw buying, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas marketing companies, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, POL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the green.

In a key development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) updated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that there are 1,016 returns filed by retailers/shopkeepers under the Aasan Tax Scheme. The issue came to light during the review talks for undertaking the fourth review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

On Tuesday, easing concerns over global crude oil prices and active value hunting following the previous session’s sharp decline triggered a strong bullish recovery at the PSX. The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 168,460.11 points, gaining 2,592.79 points or 1.56%.

Globally, Asian markets were slightly weaker on Wednesday even though US stocks touched new highs, as oil prices rose with a storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico and tensions escalating between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was down 0.3% after US stocks ended higher. The index is up 1.5% so far this month.

The S&P 500 hit a fresh record on Tuesday, up about 0.6% on the day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.45%, also an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.

In Asian trading, US crude ticked up 1.05% to $90.38 a barrel; prices were little changed in the international session. Brent crude rose 1.06% to $101.65 per barrel.

The positive sentiment among traders of US equities followed a stabilisation in global bond yields overnight.

This is an intraday update