Positive momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 400 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday.
At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 164,830.55, up 363.35 points or 0.22%.
Buying was observed in key sectors: automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, POL, HBL, MCB and MEBL, traded in the green.
In a key development, Pakistan has decided to tighten its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT) regimes by approving revised thresholds for currency transaction reporting, bringing a provision of the Pakistan Maritime Zones Act, 2023, in the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), and including the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) in the law’s regulatory framework.
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 benchmark 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.
This is an intraday update
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