Banking, Energy and Cement Stocks Lead Early Market Gains
Buying momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained more than 600 points during early trading hours.
At 9:35am, the KSE-100 Index stood at 169,561.27 points, reflecting an increase of 645.05 points or 0.38%.
Investors showed strong interest in major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies, power generation, and refineries. Consequently, index-heavy stocks such as ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and NBP traded firmly in positive territory.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment improved significantly after the State Bank of Pakistan confirmed receiving approximately $1.3 billion from the International Monetary Fund under the Extended Fund Facility and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility programmes.
The fresh inflow strengthened confidence in Pakistan’s external financing position and supported broad-based buying activity across the market.
Global Market Uncertainty Continues Amid Middle East Conflict
Despite Wednesday’s rebound, the PSX had closed sharply lower in the previous session as geopolitical uncertainty continued weighing on investor sentiment.
On Tuesday, the KSE-100 Index lost 1,590.09 points, or 0.93%, ending the session at 168,916.22 points after renewed selling pressure linked to escalating Middle East tensions and uncertainty surrounding future US-Iran negotiations.
Internationally, Asian stock markets also traded cautiously on Wednesday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.6%, while South Korean equities briefly dropped more than 3% before recovering part of the losses.
Additionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2%, and S&P 500 futures edged lower as investors monitored inflation concerns and regional instability.
Oil prices also remained elevated amid ongoing tensions. Brent crude fell 0.6% to $107.13 per barrel but stayed above the $100 mark due to continued disruptions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
