PSX: Stocks gain over 800 points in early trade

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw significant buying interest during early trading on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising over 800 points within the first minutes of market opening. At 9:19am, the index was at 177,399.75, up 807.99 points or 0.46%. Sectors like automobiles, cement, commercial banks, fertilizers, OMCs, and refineries experienced buying activity, with index-heavy stocks such as ARL, MARI, FFC, HBL, MEBL, NBP, and UBL trading higher.

In contrast, on Thursday, the PSX had been volatile due to geopolitical concerns and high oil prices, with selling of heavyweight stocks outweighing selective buying. The KSE-100 Index closed at 176,591.77 points, down 254.59 points or 0.14%. Globally, most Asian share indices were set to have a weekly decline as global bond markets faced persistent stress, and a Gulf diplomatic deadlock pushed oil prices to one-month highs, raising inflation concerns.

Meanwhile, US Treasury yields rose after the Treasury's surprise intervention on Wednesday, which offered little relief after the initial selling. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at further repurchases of Treasuries and fiscal consolidation, but analysts doubted he could trim the budget deficit of over 6% of GDP effectively.

The rising yields increase debt costs and pressure on tech giants' borrowing for AI investments, thus lowering corporate earnings discount and challenging stock valuations. This intraday update highlights the complexities of global markets amid economic challenges.