Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, resulting in a decline of over 1,100 points in the benchmark KSE-100 Index during the initial trading session.
At 10:05 AM, the benchmark index was trading at 163,455.70, down by 1,134.71 points (0.69 percent).
Selling pressure was observed in key sectors, including Commercial Banks, Fertilizer, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies), and Power Generation. NBP, Mari, POL, MEBL, MCB, SSGC, and HBL were trading in the negative zone.
It is worth recalling that on Thursday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 164,590.41 points, a decrease of 1,962.87 points (1.18 percent).
International Market Overview
Internationally, Asian shares rose on Friday as stronger-than-expected earnings on Wall Street and signs of improving US-China relations boosted investor sentiment, while oil prices fell following new US sanctions on Russian suppliers.
Intel’s results, released after the close of business in New York, exceeded expectations, adding to a slew of positive earnings reports in the US. Japan’s Nikkei share gauge rose ahead of a speech by the new Prime Minister.
With most economic data obscured by the US government shutdown, the Consumer Price Index (inflation) data due on Friday is the focus for potential clues regarding the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week.
Investor confidence further improved when the White House confirmed that US President Donald Trump would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his Asia visit next week, as a tariff deadline approaches.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (excluding Japan) saw a 0.5 percent increase in early trading.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index climbed 1.2 percent.
