Karachi
After days of selling pressure, buying interest returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index remained firmly in positive territory throughout the session, reflecting improved investor sentiment.
Trading began on a cautious note, with the index briefly hitting the intra-day low of 177,931.32 in the early hours.
However, aggressive buying emerged soon after, helping the market recover sharply. The benchmark steadily climbed through the morning session, crossing 178,500 points and maintaining its upward momentum towards midday.
The rally accelerated during the afternoon session, with the index surging to an intra-day high of 179,919.27 points.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 179,571.26, a gain of 1,878.34 points or 1.06%.
“This positivity can be attributed to decline in crude oil prices,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
Top positive contribution to the index came from UBL, LUCK, SRVI, PPL , FFC and MCB, as they cumulatively contributed 920 points to the index, it added.
On Tuesday, the PSX remained under pressure as investors stayed cautious amid uncertainty surrounding regional geopolitical developments, while profit-taking and other index-heavy sectors extended losses for a second consecutive session. The KSE-100 Index closed in the red, shedding 778.95 points, or 0.44%, to settle at 177,692.92 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks were wobbly on Wednesday, a day after a global selloff in technology and semiconductor shares, with analysts cautioning about the risk of renewed volatility.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.02%. South Korean shares, which plunged 10% on Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, jumped 2.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei was swinging between gains and losses, last down 0.8%.
