PSX: buying continues, KSE-100 gains nearly 1,300 points

Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index accumulating nearly 1,300 points on Wednesday.

The market remained volatile during the session, initially facing selling pressure before recovering in the afternoon.

The KSE-100 Index touched an intra-day low of 164,355.82 and a high of 166,100.33.

After trading largely within a narrow range during the morning and early afternoon, the index gained momentum around the final hours, climbing to its session high.

It subsequently retreated before recovering some ground and settling higher.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 165,736.75 points, rising 1,269.55 points or 0.77%.

“The bullish momentum was primarily driven by better-than-expected corporate results, which helped shift market sentiment and renewed investor confidence in the earnings outlook. The encouraging results provided fresh impetus to the market, with investors showing increased interest in fundamentally strong stocks,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

FFC, NBP, HUBC, MCB, and BAFL were the major contributors to the index’s gains, collectively adding approximately 833 points to the benchmark, highlighting strong support from heavyweight stocks, it said.

On Tuesday, PSX extended its recovery as easing international crude oil prices and broad-based buying across key sectors lifted investor sentiment, despite the State Bank of Pakistan’s recent 50 bps policy rate hike. The KSE-100 Index closed at 164,467.20 points, gaining 1428.73 points or 0.88%.

Globally, Asia stocks rallied on Wednesday after ​a resurgence in AI enthusiasm ahead of earnings from industry bellwethers later in the US day, while the ‌dollar was perky ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision.

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported a more than sevenfold rise in quarterly operating profit, adding to the buoyant mood.

The AI rally faces its next test when technology giants Alphabet and Microsoft report earnings after market close, with investors looking for evidence of ​returns that would justify the hefty price of AI build-out.

Ahead of US earnings, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.85% in early Asia trade, with Japan’s Nikkei adding 1.2% and South Korea’s KOSPI jumping more than 3%.

Shares of SK Hynix rose 3% shortly after the open, ​before paring gains to last trade 1.75% higher.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. The local unit closed the day at 276.77, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 578.12 million from 401.97 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs26.20 billion from Rs18.07 billion in the previous session.

Pervez Ahmed Co was the volume leader with 58.32 million shares, followed by TPL Properties with 38.35 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 34.76 million shares.

Shares of 496 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 269 registered an increase, 180 recorded a fall, and 47 remained unchanged.