Buying rally at PSX, KSE-100 up nearly 1,900 points

After days of selling pressure, buying interest returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index remained firmly in positive territory throughout the session, reflecting improved investor sentiment.

Trading began on a cautious note, with the index briefly hitting the intra-day low of 177,931.32 in the early hours.

However, aggressive buying emerged soon after, helping the market recover sharply. The benchmark steadily climbed through the morning session, crossing 178,500 points and maintaining its upward momentum towards midday.

The rally accelerated during the afternoon session, with the index surging to an intra-day high of 179,919.27 points.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 179,571.26, a gain of 1,878.34 points or 1.06%.

“This positivity can be attributed to decline in crude oil prices,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Top positive contribution to the index came from UBL, LUCK, SRVI, PPL , FFC and MCB, as they cumulatively contributed 920 points to the index, it added.

On Tuesday, the PSX remained under pressure as investors stayed cautious amid uncertainty surrounding regional geopolitical developments, while profit-taking and other index-heavy sectors extended losses for a second consecutive session. The KSE-100 Index closed in the red, shedding 778.95 points, or 0.44%, to settle at 177,692.92 points.

Internationally, Asian ​stocks were wobbly on Wednesday, a day after a global selloff in technology and semiconductor shares, ‌with analysts cautioning about the risk of renewed volatility.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.02%. South Korean shares, which plunged 10% on Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, jumped 2.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei was swinging between gains and ​losses, last down 0.8%.

Risk-off sentiment swept Wall Street ​overnight, tracking moves in Europe and Asia. U.S. stocks fell on concerns about rising debt-funded AI spending and speculation ​that the Federal Reserve could adopt a more hawkish stance, while Treasury yields declined as investors sought the safety of government debt.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.09%, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year ​notes fell 1.41 basis points to 4.493%.

Oil prices extended this week’s losses, trading near four-month lows hit in the ​previous session, on signs that more oil tankers stranded in the Gulf since the start of the Iran war are set ‌to move ⁠out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.20, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index rose to 851.30 million from 765.14 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares increased to Rs40.38 billion from Rs35.44 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 112.89 million shares, followed by Pak Int. Bulk with 73.29 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 38.76 million shares.

Shares of 489 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 289 registered an increase, 167 recorded a fall, and 33 remained unchanged.