PSX: selling at bourse, KSE-100 sheds nearly 400 points in early trade

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 400 points during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday.

At 9:39am, the benchmark index was hovering at 165,534.37, down 396.61 points or 0.24%.

Key sectors saw selling, including automobile assemblers, cement, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, HBL and UBL, traded in the red.

On Wednesday, PSX rebounded as renewed institutional buying, optimism over diplomatic efforts to resolve the US–Iran conflict and expectations surrounding the draft Auto Policy 2026–31 lifted the index. The KSE-100 Index gained 779.34 points, or 0.47%, to close at 165,930.99 points.

Globally, Asian stocks struggled to stay above water in early trade ​on Thursday, as tech earnings optimism provided only fleeting support amid lingering concerns over AI ‌and uncertainty in the Gulf.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, on track for a fourth straight week of decline. Japan’s Nikkei stock index gave up earlier gains to trade 0.4% lower, while Korean shares were ​down more than 1%.

US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were down 0.4% at 7,765.8. ​Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street to a higher close as better-than-expected earnings ⁠reports from market heavyweights helped ease some concerns over the sustainability and profitability of massive AI build-outs.

SpaceX posted its first profit as a public company, Meta reported third-quarter revenue that beat expectations, while AI ​server maker Super Micro forecast quarterly revenue and profit margin that both topped estimates.

However, Meta’s plan to issue non-voting Class C common stock drew renewed scrutiny on AI spending.

This is an intraday update