Buying returns to PSX, KSE-100 up nearly 3,000 points

A day after a historic selloff at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), buying momentum returned on Friday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 3,000 points during the second half of trading.

At 4pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 109,072.36, an increase of 2,797.39 points or 2.63%.

Buying interest was seen in key sectors including cement, commercial banks fertilizer and oil and gas exploration companies.

Index-heavy stocks including MCB, MEBL, NBP, UBL, OGDC, PPL and HUBCO traded in the green.

“The recent market pullback has opened up valuations, creating attractive entry points for investors looking to capitalize on the dip in equities,” said Intermarket Securities in a note on Friday.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Arif Habib Limited (AHL), which attributed the earlier decline to “profit-taking combined with redemptions in mutual funds”.

“The KSE-100 2025 forward P/E [price to earning] ratio of 5.7x is still substantially below the 10-year average P/E of 8.2x,” AHL said in a report.

“This discount signals a sharp undervaluation of the index, suggesting that the market has 44% room for appreciation to 153k points when it aligns closer to historical valuation multiples.”

On Thursday, massive selling was observed at the PSX, as equities entered a correction phase, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing around 106,200 after a historic single-day loss of 4,795 points.

During the last three sessions, the KSE-100 index has declined by 9,894 points (8.5%) from its peak of 116,169 recorded on December 16, 2024.

Investors attributed the steep decline to news of the government considering a tax amendment bill that proposes increased restrictions on non-filers in areas such as real estate, equity, and auto purchases.

Globally, Asian shares were pinned near three-month lows on Friday as investors awaited key US inflation data that could either ease or worsen concerns about price pressures, while the dollar towered at two-year peaks.

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, fell 0.4% on Friday and was headed for a weekly drop of 2.6%. It is, however, up over 8% for the year.

The closely watched inflation gauge - the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures - is due later in the day.

Forecasts are centred on a monthly rise of 0.2% for November, and any upward surprises there could lead markets to further scale back bets for US policy easing next year.

Futures imply just 37 basis points of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2025, less than two cuts, after the US central bank turned hawkish at its last meeting of the year.

A rate cut is not fully priced in until June.

This is an intra-day update