PSX Bounces Back with Strong Buying Interest

Following a day of profit-taking, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced renewed buying activity on Friday. The KSE-100 Index surged by almost 900 points in the initial trading hours.

As of 10 am, the benchmark index stood at 150,104.19, reflecting an increase of 868.93 points, which translates to a 0.58% gain.

Notable buying interest was seen in important sectors such as automobile manufacturing, commercial banking, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refining. Key stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, MEBL, NBP, and UBL, showed positive movement.

On Thursday, the PSX faced considerable selling pressure as profit-taking offset earlier gains, causing the benchmark to decline and conclude its streak of record highs. The KSE-100 Index closed at 149,235.26 points, a drop of 1,355.74 points or 0.9%.

Globally, Asian markets saw slight gains on Friday as investors cautiously awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Financial markets are keenly observing Powell’s remarks for indications regarding a potential rate cut in September, especially after recent data showed some weakness in the job market and uncertainty in the near-term policy outlook.

MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose by 0.2%, extending its gains to 1.6% this month. South Korea’s Kospi index led the gains with a 1% increase, while China’s CSI 300 Index was on track for its third consecutive day of gains.

The Nikkei 225 fluctuated, eventually rising by 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%. The Wall Street cash gauge is currently on a five-day losing streak and is set for its largest weekly decline this month.

Expectations for a September rate cut increased after a surprisingly weak payrolls report earlier in the month and consumer price data suggesting limited upward pressure from tariffs.

However, market expectations eased slightly after the release of minutes from the Fed’s July meeting. Traders are now estimating a 75% chance of a rate cut in September, down from 82.4% on Thursday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

This information is an intra-day market update.