KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday turned bullish as investor sentiment improved following the United Nations call for Pakistan and India to exercise maximum restraint and pursue resolution through mutual engagement. In the morning, the market got off to a positive start as the KSE-100 index swiftly reached the intra-day high at 115,845 points. Thereafter, the index lost all early gains by midday. At the resumption of trading after break, the market dived to the intra-day low at 113,717 but it recovered quickly, ending the day with a rise of 450 points. “Stocks turned bullish after the UN urged Pakistan and India to show maximum restraint and resolve issues with mutual engagement,” said Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti. Strong financial results, surging global equities, expected monetary policy easing and the potential release of IMF tranche played the role of catalysts in bullish close at the PSX. Web Desk
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a gain of 449.53 points, or 0.39%, and settled at 115,469.35.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) wrote that 51 shares advanced while 46 declined on the KSE-100 index. Major contributors to the index gains were HBL (+6.92%), Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC) (+1.26%) and Meezan Bank (+2.42%). On the other hand, Mari Petroleum (-1.5%), Glaxo (-7.85%) and UBL (-0.73%) were the biggest drags.
Among corporate announcements, HBL reported 1QCY25 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs11.32, up 9% year-on-year (YoY), along with dividend per share of Rs4 – both exceeding market expectations.
NBP also surprised on the upside, posting 1QCY25 EPS of Rs10.29, reflecting a 126% YoY increase. Mari reported 9MFY25 EPS of Rs38.56, down 10.3% YoY, which was largely in line with expectations, AHL said.
