PSX: bulls dominate, KSE-100 ends with over 600 points gain

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) showcased resilient, bullish trading on Wednesday, with the benchmark swinging both ways before closing with a gain of over 600 points.

The market opened on a positive note before experiencing a sharp dip to hit an intra-day low of 164,060.34.

Market participants quickly stepped in around this support zone, triggering a steady mid-day recovery and accumulation phase that established a solid foundation for buyers.

As the afternoon session progressed, strong upward momentum took over, propelling the index past earlier levels to reach an intra-day high of 165,629.35.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 165,417.51, up 641.07 points or 0.39%.

“The recovery reflects renewed buying interest following the recent market downturn, as investors resorted to value hunting at lower price levels. However, sentiment remains cautious amid prevailing political and economic uncertainty, with sustained buying interest needed to support the market’s recovery in the coming sessions,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

ENGROH, LUCK, FFC, BAHL and NBP were the major contributors on the upside, cumulatively adding 381 points to the index. Conversely, MCB, HUBC, POL, PTC and NATF remained the top laggards, collectively eroding 132 points, Topline said.

On Tuesday, PSX closed lower as profit-taking at higher levels erased an early recovery. The market failed to find fresh triggers to recover Monday’s losses and reverse the broader downward trend witnessed during the previous week. The KSE-100 Index declined by 347.97 points, or 0.21%, to close at 164,776.44 points

Globally, Asian shares inched higher on Wednesday as those related to artificial intelligence found ​respite after a selloff, while any gain was tempered by elevated oil prices and caution ahead ‌of US inflation data later in the global day.

Among firms in the AI supply chain, chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose more than 2% in South Korea while Kioxia was steady in Japan, recovering some of the previous session’s loss.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific ​shares outside Japan was up 0.5% after US stocks ended the previous session with a mild ​loss.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.8%.

Sentiment remained cautious, however, with ⁠oil prices elevated as concern over energy supplies intensified following Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee stretched its marginal gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday. The local unit closed the day at 276.95, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 585.89 million from 383.75 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs20.07 billion from Rs13.10 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 87.35 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 42.30 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 41.18 million shares.

Shares of 501 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 256 registered an increase, 200 recorded a fall, and 45 remained unchanged.