Stocks staged a sharp rebound at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the KSE-100 index surging around 1,300 points to close above 148,600, as institutional buying gained momentum ahead of the August inflation data amid easing futures rollover pressure.
Market sentiment was buoyed by the rising forex reserves, rupee appreciation and government deliberations on addressing the circular debt issue. Cement, banking and energy sectors led the recovery.
"Stocks made a recovery on institutional interest amid speculation ahead of the inflation data for Aug'25 and easing pressure from futures rollover," said Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director of Arif Habib Corp.
Surging forex reserves, rupee gains and government deliberations for settling the circular debt drove the bullish close at the PSX, he added.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a surge of 1,274.27 points, or 0.86%, and settled at 148,617.78.
KTrade noted that the PSX experienced a reversal of trend as the KSE-100 index gained 1,274 points to 148,618, after briefly hitting the intra-day low of 147,488. The market witnessed a significant turnaround, driven by substantial buying in the cement sector.
Stocks such as DG Khan Cement and Fauji Cement surged to their upper limits, while the oil and gas sector also saw a modest uptick. Cement and banks were among the sectors that added the most points, led by HBL, DG Khan Cement, Lucky Cement, Fauji Cement and Systems Ltd, it said.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) mentioned that the market staged a recovery, helping the benchmark index close the week at 147.5k, down 0.6% week-on-week. Gains were led by HBL (+3.12%), DG Khan Cement (+10%) and Lucky Cement (+2.19%), while Engro Holdings (-0.95%), Meezan Bank (-1.03%) and Indus Motor (-4.84%) dragged the index down.
Overall, 61 stocks advanced while 38 declined, with the rebound from support keeping the 147.5k level intact ahead of next week, where 151.2k remains the key upside target, AHL added.
Muhammad Hasan Ather of JS Global wrote that the KSE-100 saw a strong rebound, with the index rising 1,274 points to settle at 148,618, as investors responded to the recent correction.
The rally was supported by a recovery in sectors like cement, banking and oil exploration. While flood-related concerns in Punjab have eased slightly, the market remains cautious about the long-term impact on agriculture and a muted growth outlook from the central bank, he said.
Overall trading volumes were recorded at 1.3 billion shares compared with the previous session's tally of 935.5 million. The value of shares traded was Rs52.3 billion.
Shares of 474 companies were traded. Of these, 236 stocks closed higher, 203 fell and 35 remained unchanged.
The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with trading in 128.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.81 to close at Rs15.07. It was followed by Pakistan International Bulk Terminal with 122.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.63 to close at Rs12.79 and K-Electric with 71.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs5.32. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs1.2 billion, the National Clearing Company reported.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ