Profit-taking was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) during the second half of the trading session on Friday, which erased all intra-day gains and pushed the market into the negative territory.
Market kicked off trading on a positive note, leading the KSE0-100 to an intra-day high of 146,813.43.
However, investors soon resorted to profit-taking in the second half of the trading session, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 144,917.19.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 145,382.80, down by 264.34 points or 0.18%.
Top positive contribution to the index came from ENGROH, FFC, OGDC and MCB, as they cumulatively contributed 395 points to the index. On the other hand, EFERT, LUCK, SYS, MARI and HUBC lost value to weigh down on the index by 399 points, brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
KSE 100 increased 3.08% on week-on-week (WoW) basis.
“This gain can be largely be attributed to buying by mutual funds on inflow of funds as equities performance continue to outshine other asset classes,” Topline said.
On Thursday, PSX extended its record-breaking rally as bullish sentiment persisted amid strong buying from local mutual funds. The KSE-100 Index reached another record, making an all-time closing high of 145,647.14 points, which was 558.64 points or 0.39%.
Internationally, Japanese shares surged on Friday after positive earnings reports and expectations that the US would remove overlapping tariffs on the country’s goods, while shares were down in other Asian markets after a late retreat on Wall Street during the previous session.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.4% with Hong Kong’s market leading declines, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild losses after nearing a one-week high.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks soared, with the Nikkei 225 up 2% and the Topix index hitting a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time.
Shares in SoftBank Group rallied as much as 11% after the technology investor reported that it swung back to profit in the first quarter. Sony Group gained 6%, adding to its earnings-fuelled 4.1% advance from Thursday.
US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, on track to extend gains into a third day.
The rally for stocks comes “against the backdrop of an emerging titanic dovish pivot at the Federal Reserve,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran for the vacant seat at the Federal Reserve while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank’s governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair.
The market is also digesting a Bloomberg News report that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is the top candidate to replace Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee maintained its upward momentum against the US dollar, appreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 282.47, a gain of Re0.09.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 548.05 million from 712.53 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs45.49 billion from Rs55.68 billion in the previous session.
Pak Petroleum was the volume leader with 21.97 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 21.26 million shares, and Loads Limited with 20.56 million shares.
Shares of 482 companies were traded on Friday, of which 151 registered an increase, 296 recorded a fall, while 35 remained unchanged.
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