PSX Rallies on Positive Economic Indicators

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward trajectory, fueled by optimistic earnings forecasts, a stable rupee, and robust institutional investment from both domestic and international sources. The KSE-100 Index demonstrated strong performance, climbing almost 600 points in the initial trading hours on Wednesday.

As of 10 am, the KSE-100 Index stood at 150,346.33, reflecting an increase of 575.59 points, equivalent to a 0.38% rise.

Significant buying activity was evident in crucial sectors such as automobile manufacturing, commercial banking, power generation, and oil refining. Major stocks including PRL, ARL, HUBCO, MEBL, NBP, and BOP showed positive trading results.

Moody’s Upgrades Pakistani Banks

In a significant development for Pakistan’s financial sector, Moody’s Ratings has revised upwards the local and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of five major Pakistani banks. These banks are Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), MCB Bank Limited (MCB), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), and United Bank Ltd (UBL); their ratings have been elevated from Caa2 to Caa1.

These rating adjustments followed Moody’s decision to upgrade Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating to Caa1 from Caa2, acknowledging the country’s improved external financial standing due to advancements in reform implementation under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

On the preceding day, Tuesday, the PSX had already extended its record-breaking surge, with the KSE-100 Index reaching an unprecedented closing high of 149,770.75 points, marking a substantial increase of 1,574 points or 1.06%.

Global Market Overview

Globally, stock markets faced headwinds on Wednesday, triggered by a tech-driven sell-off on Wall Street. Meanwhile, the US dollar strengthened ahead of a key meeting of central bank officials later in the week.

Stock futures indicated a weaker opening in Europe, and most Asian markets were trading negatively. Tech-heavy indexes in Taiwan and South Korea experienced significant declines, partly due to concerns about the potential impact of the US administration’s policies on companies in the tech sector.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan fell by more than 1%, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures decreased by 0.64%, and DAX futures dropped by 0.63%.

S&P 500 futures were down by 0.27%, and Nasdaq futures declined by 0.44%, continuing the downward trend from the previous day’s trading session.

Japan’s Nikkei index decreased by 1.7%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 1.3%.

This information reflects intraday market activity.