The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its upward momentum as buying continued with Friday’s session attracting interest in index-heavy banking and oil & gas stocks. The benchmark KSE-100 crossed the 83,000 level for the first time in history during intra-day trading on Friday.
At 3“:35pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 83,198.10 , an increase of 476.34 points or 0.58%.
Commercial banks, chemical, property and oil and gas exploration companies saw buying interest. Index-heavy stocks including MCB, MEBL, NBP, PPL, OGDC and MARI traded in the green.
Air Link was also positive after Business Recorder reported that the company imported two units of an electric vehicle to test the waters.
The improved market sentiment also comes on account of positive macroeconomic indicators, said experts.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves surpassed the $10 billion mark, reaching two-and-a-half-year high level following the recent disbursement of a loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The central bank’s reserves rose by $1.168 billion, climbing from $9.533 billion to $10.702 billion mark.
On Thursday, the PSX hit its highest closing level on the back of local investors’ interest coupled with institutional support. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 754.76 points or 0.92 percent and closed at the highest-ever level of 82,721.77 points.
Globally, Asian stocks retreated on Friday while oil prices headed for their sharpest weekly gain in more than a year, as escalating tensions in the Middle East kept markets on edge ahead of a US jobs report later in the day.
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the US is discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel, while Israel’s military hit Beirut with new air strikes in its battle against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
His comments sparked a surge in oil prices, which had already been on the rise this week following the widening conflict in the Middle East.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.32% and was set to end the week little changed.
This is an intra-day update