Bulls return to PSX as KSE-100 gains 486 points

After some negative sessions, bulls returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, as its benchmark KSE-100 gained 486 points to close above 78,000.

Bulls managed to maintain their grip in the market, helping the index close in the green.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 78,225.98, up by 485.68 points or 0.62%.

The sectors that contributed in the positive included power, E&Ps, banks, technology, OMCs, fertiliser, chemical, and pharma. However, cement and auto sectors closed in the red.

“The cement sector saw a decline due to news of increased royalties for limestone and argillaceous minerals used in cement production,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.

On Thursday, the KSE-100 closed lower by 147 points after mixed trading.

On a week-on-week basis, the KSE-100 closed slightly higher by 0.25%.

“Major events during the outgoing week included the SBP’s monetary policy announcement to reduce the policy rate by 100bps to 19.5%, Fitch Ratings upgrading Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC+’ from ‘CCC’, CPI Inflation for July 2024 clocking in at 11.1% YoY as compared to 12.6% in June 2024, and Pakistan’s trade deficit for July 2024 coming in at $1.94bn down by 19% MoM,” another brokerage house Topline Securitie said.

Globally, Asian shares and US Treasury yields slid while the Swiss franc and Japanese yen rose on safety bids on Friday after weaker-than-expected US factory data sparked fears of a worsening economic outlook.

A measure of US manufacturing activity dropped to an eight-month low in July amid a slump in new orders, data on Thursday showed, coming just after separate figures revealed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to an 11-month high last week.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slumped 0.8% in early Asia trade, tracking a sharp selloff on Wall Street. US stock futures also extended their declines, with Nasdaq futures losing 0.6% while S&P 500 futures fell 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 278.5, a gain of Re0.16, against the greenback.