Buying returns to PSX, KSE-100 up nearly 500 points
- Index crosses 92,500 level during intra-day trading
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) returned to winning ways, as investors brushed off uncertainty over Republican candidate Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 500 points during trading on Thursday.
At 3:30pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 92,520.48 level, an increase of 499.04 points or 0.54%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, power generation and refinery, with index-heavy stocks including PRL, HUBCO, SNGPL, OGDC, MCB and MEBL traded in the green territory.
A buying spree returned to the bourse as investors remained optimistic regarding positive macroeconomic fundamentals, experts said.
In a key development, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Inc., in the results of its November 2024 index review, announced the addition of 8 Pakistani companies as constituents on its Frontier Market (FM) Small Cap Index.
These companies include Citi Pharma, Crescent Steel & Allied Products, Fast Cables, Flying Cement Company, Pakistan Oxygen, Shifa International Hospitals, Thatta Cement Company and TRG Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff, led by Nathan Porter, is scheduled to visit Pakistan between November 11-15 for a staff visit to discuss recent developments and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme performance to date.
On Wednesday, PSX failed to continue its bullish trend and closed in the red zone due to selling pressure as investors opted to book profit on available margins.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 282.88 points and closed at 92,021.44 points.
Globally, Asia-Pacific equity markets were mixed on Thursday as investors weighed the implications of a Donald Trump presidency, while also eyeing monetary policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks later in the day.
The mixed reaction for Asian stocks was underscored in Japan as the tech-heavy Nikkei 225 reversed initial gains to be down 0.44% at 39,308.55 as of 0217 GMT, while the broader Topix remained up 0.88%.
Chinese markets, which lost ground on Wednesday due to the likelihood of higher tariffs under another Trump presidency, rebounded in the latest session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.49% and mainland blue chips added 0.14%.
This is an intra-day update
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