KSE-100 makes marginal gains amid mixed global cues
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) made only marginal gains of nearly 150 points during the intra-day trading on Thursday.
At 11:40am, the benchmark KSE-100 Index was hovering at 122,909.16 level, an increase of 147.52 points or 0.12%.
Positive momentum was observed in key sectors, including oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, refinery, while the banking sector remained under selling pressure. Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, and SNGPL traded in the green.
On Wednesday, the PSX experienced a mixed trading session as investor confidence improved further due to easing tensions in the Middle East. Key indices recorded gains for a second straight day, while market activity stayed healthy.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index added 515 points, or 0.42%, to settle at 122,761.64 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks stuttered on Thursday, while oil prices stabilised and the euro was perched at a 3-1/2-year high as investors weighed geopolitical, economic and fiscal uncertainties as they braced for US President Donald Trump's deadline on tariffs.
Markets have been soothed by a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding, reducing the risks of disruptions to the global oil trade and underpinning sentiment.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed in early trading, as the rally in Wall Street took a breather overnight. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9% to a four-month high.
The US dollar selling kicked up a notch after a media report said Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October in a bid to undermine his position.
That pushed the euro to its strongest level since November 2021. It last fetched $1.6805. The Swiss franc firmed to a decade-high while the Japanese yen strengthened 0.35% to 144.70 per dollar.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for not cutting interest rates and has floated the idea of firing him or naming a successor soon, denting investor confidence in U.S. assets and undermining the central bank's independence.
This is an intra-day update
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