PSX: rally continues, KSE-100 up 2%

Buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors awaited the results of the US midterm elections and their potential impact on peace talks in ​the Middle East, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 3,500 points during the trading session on Wednesday.

At 2:30pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,516.70, up 3,497.84 points or 2.08%.

“Buying has mainly come from institutions, particularly mutual funds, which is driving the interest we are seeing,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told Business Recorder.

“Secondly, oil prices had risen to around $103 and have stabilised at that level, which has also helped sentiment,” she added.

Globally, the analyst said, the US market is closely watching geopolitical developments.

“One is the US election, where the unofficial numbers coming in so far show a visible shift. The other is the US-Iran talks, where the US has sent a draft.

All these factors together are supporting the market at the moment.”

Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green.

On Tuesday, PSX rallied as easing international crude oil prices and optimism over potential negotiations between the United States and Iran improved investor sentiment. The KSE-100 Index advanced by 1,454.80 points, or 0.87%, to close at 168,018.87 points.

Globally, US stock futures slumped, Treasuries rallied, and the dollar softened on Wednesday as Democrats notched early Senate wins, fuelling bets they could wrest control of the chamber from President Donald Trump’s ​Republicans, though the outcome remained uncertain.

In North Carolina, former Governor Roy Cooper easily defeated ‌Trump-backed Republican Michael Whatley to flip a Republican-held Senate seat, according to media projections, handing Democrats one of the four net gains they need to secure a majority.

Democrat Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia. Democrats are favoured to capture the House, while the fight for the Senate ​remains a closely contested state-by-state battle, keeping investors on edge as they gauge the implications for Washington’s balance ​of power.

Prediction markets signalled ​growing expectations of a Democratic sweep of the US Congress, with more than $1.48 billion wagered on the midterm elections in a ​fresh test for the novel markets.

Futures for the S&P 500 slid 0.8% while Nasdaq futures fell 1.8%. The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note fell 6 basis points to 4.906%.

Tuesday’s outcome could hold broad implications for market-sensitive areas including the AI dead-centre buildout, the US fiscal outlook, defence spending ​and regulation in areas such as healthcare, banking and cryptocurrencies.

In Asia, stocks reversed earlier gains to trade lower ​as investors brushed off strong ​earnings from chipmaker AMD ⁠that appeared to ease some concerns over the durability of the AI trade.

The forecast and market-beating third-quarter results offered a strong counterpoint to mounting fears that the AI boom ​is losing steam after rival Intel issued a weak outlook last week.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific ​shares outside Japan fell ⁠0.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI slid 1.6% while Japan’s Nikkei fell 3% after returning from a holiday.

This is an intraday update