Positive momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 850 points during intra-day trading on Wednesday.
At 12:15pm, the benchmark KSE-100 Index was hovering at 117,853.70, an increase of 852.61 points or 0.73%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including PRL, NRL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MEBL and NBP traded in green.
Market experts attributed the upward trend to multiple positive developments.
“Last week, it was reported that progress has been made in reducing the energy sector circular debt, and the government is planning to implement debt refinancing for this, which was a positive for index-heavy energy stocks,” Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, told media.
Additionally, this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded Pakistan’s progress under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. “Thus the market is hopeful that an SLA would be inked soon,” said Hanif.
The market analyst added that the government’s decision to reduce the electricity rate, expected to be announced on 23rd March, is also driving market sentiments.
On Tuesday, the buying rally continued at the PSX, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling above the 117,000 level amid a gain of over 800 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks were subdued on Wednesday and gold hovered near record highs as economic worries and a shifting geopolitical landscape kept risk appetite in check. At the same time, the yen was a tad softer ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision.
The euro remained close to the five-month high it reached on Tuesday after Germany’s parliament approved plans for a significant increase in spending, handing conservative leader and the chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz a huge boost.
Geopolitical tensions escalated as Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people on Tuesday, shattering nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire began, unnerving investors.
Adding to the unease, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily but refrained from endorsing a full 30-day ceasefire.
That left investor sentiment fragile and market moves muted, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.12%. Japan’s Nikkei was 0.5% higher on a weak yen.
The focus in Asian hours will also be on Indonesian stocks after the stock market there clocked its sharpest fall in nearly three years on Tuesday, on concerns over the government’s fiscal strategy and the nation’s growth prospects.
This is an intra-day update
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