Positive sentiments prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as assurance from Field Marshal Asim Munir to the business community boosted investor confidence, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 700 points during the opening minutes of trading.
At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 140,082.55 level, an increase of 662.94 points or 0.48%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, NRL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, SNGPL and SSGC traded in the green.
On Tuesday, PSX surged as investor sentiment strengthened. Confidence rose after a meeting between business leaders and Field Marshal Asim Munir coupled with the government’s Senate majority win further eased political uncertainty.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 1,202 points or 0.87% to close at 139,419.62 points.
In a key development, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Tuesday assured the country’s business community of his full support for the economic growth of the country, according to a FPCCI statement on Tuesday.
During the meeting, COAS Munir instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to have dialogue with businessmen over arrest powers, penalties.
“The business community is immensely thankful to Field Marshal Asim Munir for immediately directing that the new provisions; particularly those added under Sections 37A and 37B of the Sales Tax Act 1990, of arrest and detention; be held in abeyance; and, for instructing the FBR to enter meaningful and solution-oriented dialogue with stakeholders and address their concerns,” the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) statement read.
Internationally, a rally in Japanese shares led Asian markets on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan and fuelled hopes of more to come, tempering the disappointment from US earnings that highlighted the drag from higher tariffs.
Trump late on Tuesday said a trade deal with Tokyo will include Japan paying a lower 15% tariff on shipments to the US. It followed an agreement with the Philippines that will see the US collect a 19% tariff rate on imports from there.
Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.6% on Wednesday as shares of automakers surged on news that the deal lowers the auto tariff to 15%, from a proposed 25%. Mazda Motor rallied 17% while Toyota Motor jumped 11%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.8%, while Wall Street futures were up about 0.1%.
In another positive development, US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss an extension to the August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Chinese blue-chips edged up 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.5%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.6%
This is an intra-day update
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