The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a positive note on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index initially rising to the 107,300 level. However, after the early gains, the upward momentum slowed down.
By 11 AM, the benchmark index had fallen by 207.91 points, or 0.12%, to reach 169,243.95. Selling pressure was seen in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, fertilizers, oil & gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies. Index-heavy stocks such as HUBCO, Mari, POL, SNGPL, SSGC, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and NBP traded in the red zone.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the PSX witnessed an active yet uneven trading session. Despite strong investor participation in multiple sectors, the benchmark index closed nearly unchanged. The KSE-100 index ended with a marginal decline of 4.52 points at 169,451.86.
On the global front, Asian stocks traded mixed as disappointing earnings from US cloud-computing giant Oracle raised concerns about AI profitability. Bonds remained steady, while the US dollar pared some of its losses following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
Oracle’s earnings and revenue falling short of estimates led to a drop of over 11% in its share price. As a result, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell nearly 0.5% in Asian trading.
Japan’s Nikkei remained stable during the morning session, though a 5% decline in AI-driven SoftBank Group limited the index’s upward movement.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% in early trade, pushing MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index up by 0.5%.
