Latest news with #KOSP
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
New record-high at PSX as KSE-100 zooms past 121,000
Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday amid reports that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the incoming federal budget had been successful, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling at a new record high. Positive momentum was observed throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 121,882.47. At close, the benchmark index settled at 121,798.86, an increase of 1,347.99 points or 1.12%. 'Valuations have become attractive, which is driving the current buying momentum,' said Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), while speaking to Business Recorder. On Tuesday, PSX closed at a new all-time high level, driven by positive expectations from the upcoming budget and news of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approval of $800 million for Pakistan. The benchmark KSE-100 Index jumped 1,573.07 points or 1.32% to close at 120,451 points, crossing the 120,000-point mark for the first time on a closing basis. Internationally, Asian stocks inched higher on Wednesday and the dollar wobbled near six-week lows as traders braced for higher US duties on steel and aluminium, the latest chapter in the trade war saga that has rattled the markets for much of the year. South Korea's stocks and its currency surged as liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election victory raised hopes of swift economic stimulus, market reforms and easing policy uncertainty. The benchmark KOSP jumped more than 2% to its highest since August 2024. That left the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.6% higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, while Taiwan stocks jumped 1.6% after artificial intelligence behemoth Nvidia boosted US stocks overnight. Data on Wednesday showed US job openings increased in April, but layoffs picked up, indicating a slowing labour market as tariffs impact the economic outlook. Investor attention has been on a possible call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping sometime this week as tensions between the world's top two economies simmer. Trump on Friday accused China of violating a Geneva agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Buying spree at PSX continues, KSE-100 crosses 121,000
Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid reports that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the incoming federal budget had been successful, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 500 points during the opening hours of trading on Wednesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 121,022.36 level, a gain of 571.49 points or 0.47%. Positive momentum was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, SNGPL, SSGC, HBL, and NBP, traded in the green. On Tuesday, PSX closed at a new all-time high level, driven by positive expectations from the upcoming budget and news of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approval of $800 million for Pakistan. The benchmark KSE-100 Index jumped 1,573.07 points or 1.32% to close at 120,451 points, crossing the 120,000-point mark for the first time on a closing basis. Internationally, Asian stocks inched higher on Wednesday and the dollar wobbled near six-week lows as traders braced for higher US duties on steel and aluminium, the latest chapter in the trade war saga that has rattled the markets for much of the year. South Korea's stocks and its currency surged as liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election victory raised hopes of swift economic stimulus, market reforms and easing policy uncertainty. The benchmark KOSP jumped more than 2% to its highest since August 2024. That left the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.6% higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, while Taiwan stocks jumped 1.6% after artificial intelligence behemoth Nvidia boosted US stocks overnight. Data on Wednesday showed US job openings increased in April, but layoffs picked up, indicating a slowing labour market as tariffs impact the economic outlook. Investor attention has been on a possible call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping sometime this week as tensions between the world's top two economies simmer. Trump on Friday accused China of violating a Geneva agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. This is an intra-day update
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Asian stocks up, dollar soft as trade uncertainty mounts
SINGAPORE: Asian stocks inched higher on Wednesday and the dollar wobbled near six-week lows as traders braced for higher U.S. duties on steel and aluminium, the latest chapter in the trade war saga that has rattled the markets for much of the year. South Korea's stocks and its currency surged as liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election victory raised hopes of swift economic stimulus, market reforms and easing policy uncertainty. The benchmark KOSP jumped more than 2% to its highest since August 2024. That left the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.6% higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, while Taiwan stocks jumped 1.6% after artificial intelligence behemoth Nvidia boosted U.S. stocks overnight. Data on Wednesday showed U.S. job openings increased in April, but layoffs picked up, indicating a slowing labour market as tariffs impact the economic outlook. Investor attention has been on a possible call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping sometime this week as tensions between the world's top two economies simmer. Trump on Friday accused China of violating a Geneva agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. Beijing said it would safeguard its interests and that the accusation was groundless. Chinese stocks were little changed in early trading with the blue chip index up 0.09%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.27%. 'Markets may be desensitized to trade headlines, but Trump-Xi talks remain in focus. A grand deal looks unlikely, yet any escalation could still spark a bout of risk aversion,' said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore. Also in focus has been the pace of trade negotiations and the lack of significant progress. Wednesday is the deadline for U.S. trading partners to submit their proposals for deals that might help them avoid Trump's hefty 'Liberation Day' tariffs from taking effect in five weeks. Trump signed an executive proclamation that puts into effect from 0401 GMT on Wednesday his surprise announcement last week that he was taking the tariffs on steel and aluminium imports that had been in place since March to 50% from 25%. 'We believe that the steel & aluminium tariffs are an exemplar of other strategic tariffs that are coming and likely to 'stick',' said Thierry Wizman, global FX & rates strategist at Macquarie. 'With that, there's still little impetus for a U.S. dollar rally to take hold.' Dollar weakness The on-again-off-again tariffs from Trump have led to investors fleeing U.S. assets looking for safe havens, including gold and other currencies, this year as they expect trade uncertainties to take a toll on the global economy. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the global economy is on course to slow from 3.3% last year to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, trimming its estimates from March, mainly on the fallout from the Trump administration's trade war. Stocks slip, dollar sags as Trump tariffs remain after latest courtroom twist The dollar on Wednesday was on the back foot, slipping 0.17% against the yen at 143.72 and 0.1% against the Swiss franc at 0.8227. The euro rose 0.15% to $1.1388. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. unit versus six other major currencies, was at 99.11, not far from the six-week low of 98.58 touched on Monday. The index is down 8.5% this year. In commodities, oil prices eased, weighed down by a loosening supply-demand balance following increasing OPEC+ output and lingering concerns over the global economic outlook due to tariff tensions. Brent crude futures dipped 0.06% to $65.59 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.35 per barrel, down 0.09%. Gold rose 0.5% to $3,369.59 per ounce, taking its gains for the year to an eye-popping 28% on safe-haven flows.
