Strong buying momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing above 185,000 on Friday.
The bulls maintained their grip throughout the session, pushing the index to an intra-day high of 185,208.98.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 185,098.83, up by 3,642.50 points or 2.01%.
Analysts attributed the buying spree to expectations of a further policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
“There has been fresh buying from funds and institutional investors, while selling pressure has largely subsided,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, told media.
“Following yesterday’s PIB auction, where yields have declined, the market is anticipating that a rate cut could be announced in the upcoming MPC. This reflects broader market expectations,” she added.
Buying interest was seen in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green.
The federal government on Thursday announced that prices of petroleum products will remain unchanged for the next fortnight, starting January 16, 2026. As per the notification, the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) has been maintained at Rs257.08 per litre, while Motor Spirit (petrol) will continue to be sold at Rs253.17 per litre.
On Thursday, PSX ended the session sharply lower as heightened volatility, weak investor sentiment and sustained selling pressure across key sectors overshadowed select gains in heavyweight stocks, pushing major benchmark indices into negative territory. The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 181,456.34 points, down 1,113.48 points, or 0.61%.
Globally, Asian stocks advanced on Friday as the artificial intelligence boom regained momentum, while the dollar held near a six-week high after upbeat US economic data left traders trimming bets on rate cuts there.
Oil prices were nursing losses and safe-haven gold and silver fell after US President Donald Trump adopted a wait-and-see posture towards the unrest in Iran, having earlier threatened intervention.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5% and hovered near a record high hit in the previous session, as stellar results from Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC breathed new life into the AI trade.
The US and Taiwan also clinched a trade deal on Thursday that cuts tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse’s exports, directs new investments towards the US technology industry and risks infuriating China.
Overnight, gains in technology and financial stocks sent Wall Street higher, with Nasdaq futures up 0.22% in the Asian session. S&P 500 futures similarly tacked on 0.15%.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.42%, weighed down in part by a recovery in the yen, which has retreated from an 18-month low. EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.38% while FTSE futures eased 0.18%, after European shares scaled a record high on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the local currency settled at 279.95, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 959.53 million from 820.04 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs69.46 billion from Rs45.98 billion in the previous session.
Arif Habib Corp was the volume leader with 72.95 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 39.19 million shares, and Pak Int.Bulk with 36.20 million shares.
Shares of 482 companies were traded on Friday, of which 334 registered an increase, 117 recorded a fall, and 31 remained unchanged.
American Dollar Exchange Rate