PSX: positive momentum continues, KSE-100 gains nearly 1,600 points
Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,600 points during the opening hours on Thursday. At 11:10am, the benchmark index was hovering at 167,316.40, up by 1,579.65 points or 0.95%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power…
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a continued surge in buying momentum on Thursday, with the KSE-100 Index surging nearly 1,600 points during the early trading hours. By 11:10am, the index was trading at 167,316.40, up by 1,579.65 points or 0.95%. Demand for shares was observed in key sectors such as automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), and power generation firms.
Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, KE, MARI, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and UBL all traded in the green. On Wednesday, the PSX extended its recovery, with late-session buying propelling the market higher, buoyed by gains across various sectors. The KSE-100 Index rose 1,269.55 points, or 0.77%, to conclude at 165,736.76 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks retreated from earlier gains on Thursday, as AI-related earnings announcements triggered divergent reactions, raising expectations ahead of Amazon and Intel's results. Alphabet's heavy cash burn sent its shares down 10% in after-hours trading, eroding nearly $400 billion in market value. This negatively impacted the Nasdaq futures by 1%.
In contrast, Microsoft surpassed expectations with stronger-than-anticipated cash flows, causing its shares to climb by 3%. Overnight, the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as anticipated, but two committee members advocated for a rate hike. Chair Kevin Warsh projected a more optimistic outlook on inflation during his press conference, resulting in a rally in U.S. Treasuries.
Nevertheless, the primary catalyst for market movements was earnings reports. Samsung Electronics reported a nearly ninefold increase in operating profit to a record high in the third quarter, fueled by strong demand for AI chips. Its shares plummeted over 4%, contributing to a 2.6% decline in the KOSPI index following a previous 7% surge.
MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan slipped by 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei extended gains to be up 0.3%. Chinese blue chips declined by 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.2%.
Written by urgent.news from Business Recorder's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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