PSX Opens Higher with Selective Buying

Stocks at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) moved cautiously higher on Thursday, as traders showed renewed buying interest in key sectors. By 11:25am, the KSE-100 Index stood at 147,737.44 points, gaining 243.41 points or 0.17% in the early session.

Market watchers noted that automobile companies, commercial banks, and oil and gas explorers led the buying trend. Heavily weighted stocks including PSO, Mari Petroleum, POL, Meezan Bank, UBL, and Honda Atlas were among those seeing activity in the green.

The modest uptick followed a turbulent Wednesday session when the index dropped 941.03 points, or 0.63%, closing at 147,494.03. Analysts attributed the earlier slump to investor unease over contract rollovers, a cautious economic outlook, and alerts about possible flooding.

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Asian equities were also in focus. Despite strong earnings from Nvidia, the US chipmaker that has surged to become the world’s most valuable company, markets across the region were unsettled by concerns about its exposure to China. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan slipped 0.2% as US equity futures turned lower, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq contracts losing 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

Japanese shares moved between gains and losses after reports indicated that a planned trip to the US by Tokyo’s top trade negotiator had been called off. The Nikkei 225, however, managed a 0.4% rise. South Korea’s market edged 0.3% higher as the Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 2.5%, a widely expected move.