Bullish momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 700 points during the opening hours of trading on Thursday.
At 11:10am, the benchmark index was hovering at 112,989.28 level, an increase of 735.52 points or 0.66%.
Buying was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including PRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, HBL, NBP and UBL traded in the green.
Investors are keenly watching ongoing talks between the Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the first review of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
The review, if cleared and approved by the lender’s board, could unlock another tranche of funding for cash-strapped Pakistan ahead of its annual budget, which is usually presented in June.
On Wednesday, the PSX benchmark KSE-100 closed lower by 490 points after selling in the second half erased the intra-day gains of nearly 600 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks rose on Thursday as investors held out hope that trade tensions could ease after US President Donald Trump exempted automakers from tariffs for a month, while the euro stood tall ahead of the European Central Bank policy meeting.
Japanese government bonds fell sharply in Asian hours after German long-dated bonds were swept up in their biggest sell-off in years as the parties in talks to form Germany’s new government agreed to try to loosen fiscal rules.
Japan’s 10-year government bond yield hit a near 16-year high as sentiment remained fragile.
Much of the market focus remains on an escalating global trade war after 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada were imposed on Tuesday along with fresh duties on Chinese goods, sparking fears about economic growth.
But on Wednesday, the White House said Trump will exempt automakers from his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with existing free trade rules.
That led US stocks sharply higher, shoring up Asian markets in early trade. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.86%, while Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.8%.
China and Hong Kong shares rose on Thursday, a day after Beijing set an ambitious economic growth target and vowed more support for domestic consumption and the tech industry as a trade war with the United States ratchets up.
China’s blue-chip index rose 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, the best-performing major stock market in the world, surged 2.4%.
Hang Seng is up 20% so far this year and touched its highest level since January 2022.
This is an intra-day update
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