The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed volatile session on Friday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index swayed in both directions before closing the day flat.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, followed by a selling spree that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 109,686.53.
However, the bulls regained momentum in the final hours, taking the KSE-100 to an intra-day high of 110,905.09.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 110,322.94, marginally up 21.78 points or 0.02%.
“Many stocks have reached attractive levels and we may see the downtrend reversing soon,” said Intermarket Securities in a note, earlier on Friday.
Selling continued at the PSX on Thursday, with the KSE-100 closing the day lower by over 1,600 points to settle at 110,301.16.
Internationally, Asian stocks inched up on Friday ahead of key US payrolls data as investors considered prospects that a broader trade war could be averted, while the yen hit its highest in nearly two months on rising odds of more rate hikes in Japan this year.
In a week that started with US President Donald Trump kicking off a trade war, first by imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada and then pausing them, investors have been hesitant in making major moves as threatened duties on China were implemented.
Beijing’s measured tit-for-tat response has left room for negotiations, analysts say, and that has allowed traders to focus on the AI theme in Asia in the wake of Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek’s breakthrough.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.17% on Friday, poised for an over 3% rise in the week, its strongest weekly performance since early October when investors were enthused by the prospect of big stimulus plans from Chinese authorities.
China’s blue-chip stock index rose 0.8% leaving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.3% for the day.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee recorded a marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 279.05 for a gain of Re0.1 against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 299.68 million from 598.93 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs15.62 billion from Rs25.63 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 30.24 million shares, followed by Silk Bank Ltd with 22.23 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 18.74 million shares.
Shares of 446 companies were traded on Friday, of which 144 registered an increase, 228 recorded a fall, while 74 remained unchanged.