Bullish momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 800 points during the opening hours of trading on Wednesday.
At 11:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 113,930.32 level, an increase of 841.85 points or 0.74%.
Buying interest was observed in key sectors including commercial banks, cement, OMCs and refineries. Index-heavy stocks traded in the green, including PSO, SHEL, SNGPL, NRL, PRL, HBL, MCB, and UBL.
On Tuesday, positive momentum returned at the PSX with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,345 points to settle at 113,088.48.
In a key development, Pakistan’s current account posted a deficit of $420 million in January 2025, a significant increase of 4% when compared with the deficit of $404 million in the same month of the previous year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday showed.
Meanwhile, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan maintained its upward trajectory, posting an impressive 56% growth during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY25).
Internationally, Asian stocks wavered on Wednesday after the S&P 500 and European shares ended at record highs. This was in response to US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats on auto, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports.
Since Trump’s inauguration four weeks ago, Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from China, on top of existing levies. He has also announced, and delayed for a month, 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that sectoral tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips would start at “25% or higher, and it will go very substantially higher over a year.” He intends to impose similar tariffs on autos as soon as April 2.
Market reaction to Trump’s threats was muted as investors increasingly see them as bargaining tools. However, the US dollar was on the front foot as geopolitical worries, including tense Russia-Ukraine negotiations, boosted safe-haven flows.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.29% after touching a three-month high earlier in the session.
Chinese tech stocks have been on a tear recently as the emergence of AI startup DeepSeek and a meeting between Xi Jinping and business leaders in the sector lifted sentiment.
This is an intra-day update
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