PSX: positive momentum continues, KSE-100 gains nearly 400 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a surge in buying momentum on Thursday morning, with the KSE-100 Index climbing nearly 400 points in the first few minutes of trading. By 9:45am, the benchmark index was trading at 166,104.36, a rise of 367.61 points, or 0.22%. Strong buying was noted in industries such as automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and power generation.

Notable stocks like HUBCO, KE, MARI, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and UBL closed in the positive territory. On Wednesday, the PSX continued its rebound with late-session buying, driven by gains across major sectors. The KSE-100 Index increased by 1,269.55 points, or 0.77%, to finish at 165,736.76 points. Globally, Asian shares initially lost momentum after strong early gains, as AI-related earnings from major companies yielded conflicting results, raising expectations for upcoming Amazon and Intel reports.

Alphabet's substantial cash burn resulted in a 10% drop in its shares and a $400 billion reduction in market value, causing Nasdaq futures to dip by 1%. In contrast, Microsoft exceeded expectations with improved cash flows, boosting its shares by 3%. The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as anticipated, but two committee members advocated for a rate hike.

Chair Kevin Warsh expressed optimism about inflation during his press conference, which encouraged a rally in Treasuries. However, earnings reports took center stage, with Samsung Electronics reporting a nearly ninefold increase in operating profit to a record high in Q3, fueled by high demand for AI chips. Its shares fell over 4%, impacting the KOSPI index, which dropped 2.6% after a previous 7% surge.

MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan declined by 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.3%. Chinese blue chips dropped 0.9%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index increased by 0.2%.