Equities opened positively with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 169,000 level for the first time in history during the first half of the trading session on Friday.
At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,316.93, an increase of 827.31 points or 0.49%.
Buying interest was seen in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, OGDC, POL, SNGPL, SSGC, DGKC, and INDU, traded in the green.
Analysts attributed the ongoing momentum to positive economic indicators and excess liquidity available in the market.
“The market rally is being fueled by improving macroeconomic stability, strong corporate earnings momentum, and renewed investor confidence,” Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, told media.
“Liquidity remains ample, supporting broad-based participation across key sectors,” he added.
On Thursday, the PSX saw a strong and broadly positive trading session, with major indices climbing, mainly attributed to institutional buying. The benchmark KSE-100 index surged 2,849.29 points, or 1.72%, to end at 168,489.63 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks were poised for solid weekly gains on Friday as rising odds of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in the near-term helped cushion jitters around a U.S. government shutdown that has pushed gold to record highs and weighed on the dollar.
Investors have mostly shrugged off the government shutdown, the 15th since 1981, even as it resulted in suspension of scientific research, financial oversight and delayed crucial economic data, including the jobs report on Friday.
Part of the reason for the lack of market reaction is that historically, shutdowns have had a limited impact on economic growth and market performance.
MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares was up 0.14%, just shy of the record high it touched on Thursday. The index was set for an over 2% gain for the week and has risen 23% so far this year. With China and parts of Asia closed for a long holiday, volumes are likely to be thin in the region.
Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.75% in early trading, not far from the record high it touched last month ahead of the crucial weekend vote that will determine the next prime minister and set the tone for fiscal and monetary policy outlook.
Asian markets were taking cues from Wall Street, where all three major indexes closed at record highs, buoyed by technology stocks as investor enthusiasm for all things AI remains unchallenged.
This is an intra-day update
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