Late-session Buying Boosts KSE-100: Positive Trend Amidst Volatility

In a volatile trading session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) KSE-100 Index witnessed a positive turnaround, closing with a gain of 246 points, thanks to robust late-session buying.

The initial half of the session experienced selling pressure, pushing the KSE-100 to an intra-day low of 61,750.97. However, a surge in buying activity reversed the trend, resulting in the index finishing in the green.

At the close, the KSE-100 settled at 62,693.57, marking a notable increase of 245.56 points or 0.39%. Notable contributions from OMC and refinery sector stocks, including PPL, PSO, OGDC, CNERGY, and ATRL, collectively added 183 points. Conversely, DAWH, MCB, and ENGRO led to a combined loss of 133 points, according to Topline Securities' post-market report.

Wednesday saw the PSX in a correction phase, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 400 points to settle at 62,448.01. Analysts attribute the selling pressure to a correction following weeks of impressive growth in the Pakistani market, which propelled the index to record levels exceeding 66,000.

Globally, equities faced a downturn after Wall Street's winning streak ended, and Treasury yields hovered near five-month lows due to expectations of soft inflation in the UK, influencing upcoming US price data.

While the equities rally, driven by falling interest rates and the Federal Reserve's dovish stance, slowed down, US economic data initially beating expectations failed to sustain the major indexes' gains.

Simultaneously, the Pakistani rupee continued its positive momentum against the US dollar for the eighth consecutive session, appreciating by 0.04% in the inter-bank market, settling at 282.79, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Trading activity on the all-share index decreased to 812.3 million from the previous session's 1.18 billion, with the value of shares dropping to Rs16.68 billion from Rs26.03 billion.

K-Electric Ltd led in volume with 209.3 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 101.5 million and WorldCall Telecom with 59.8 million shares.

Out of 358 companies traded on Thursday, 251 saw an increase, 93 recorded a fall, and 14 remained unchanged.