Buying momentum at bourse, KSE-100 up over 700 points in early trade – Markets

Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday.

At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 182,871.39, up 717.84 points or 0.39%.

Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the green.

Pakistan and Indonesia on Tuesday agreed to expedite efforts to transform their existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by 2027, marking a significant step towards strengthening bilateral economic ties.

On Tuesday, PSX closed marginally lower as sustained selling pressure offset select gains in fertiliser, keeping investor sentiment. The benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the session down by 186.83 points, or 0.10%, to close at 182,153.55 points.

Internationally, bonds jumped, and a rebound in stock markets slowed down on Wednesday after softer-than-expected US retail sales figures, while a rally in the yen has extended and might be beginning to signal a shift in investor thinking since Japan’s election.

Trade in Asia was lightened by a holiday in Japan, and markets in Hong Kong and China opened around flat.

Gold rose back above $5,000 an ounce, and Treasury futures climbed a little, with the cash market closed.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell nearly six basis points overnight and touched a one-month low of 4.14% after data showed a 0.1% dip in core US retail sales in December and downward revisions to November and October figures.

Yields fall when bond prices rise. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower, as a recovery from last week’s heavy selling in software shares starts to lose momentum.

Alphabet shares, which fell 1.8%, weighed on the market as the Google parent is in the midst of raising debt to fund an AI infrastructure spending spree.

In Asia, S&P 500 futures were 0.2% higher, Nikkei futures rose, though the cash market was shut for a holiday, and earnings drove moves in the Australian market, which was up 1% around the middle of the day in Sydney.

This is an intra-day update