PSX: KSE-100 trades flat after early gains fade

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index trading flat during the first half of the trading session on Friday.

The index opened higher and hit its day high of 168,134.12, but then came under sustained profit-taking.

At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 167,427.78, down 14.12 points or 0.01%.

On Thursday, a sharp rise in global crude oil prices amid heightened Middle East geopolitical risks triggered widespread profit-taking at the PSX. The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined 1,138.50 points, or 0.68%, to close at 167,441.91 points.

Globally, Asian stocks slipped on Friday and were poised for a second straight weekly drop as investors fretted about elevated energy prices, bond market ructions and the huge ​sums needed to fund AI investment.

Brent crude futures were at $103.70 per barrel in Asian hours after surging more than 4% in ‌the previous session on concerns over the war in the Middle East that has fanned inflation worries and led to higher rates across the globe.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will not launch an attack on Iran before November’s US midterm elections, although traders remained sceptical of any progress being made to end the war.

In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.16%, set for an over 1% drop for the week. Markets in South ​Korea and Taiwan were closed for a holiday. Japan’s Nikkei fell more than 1%.

Tech stocks led Wall Street’s main indexes lower overnight after a report that ​OpenAI’s annualised revenue was $20 billion less than the company previously signalled hit sentiment.

Investors were ​also weighing a massive round of fundraising that appears to be on the way, with SpaceX, Broadcom and Oracle all expected to raise billions to buy high-end AI chips.

This is an intraday update