ISLAMABAD: Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed above the 141,000 mark by the end of the trading session.
Strong buying interest was seen across major sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil and gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies (OMCs). Prominent index movers such as MARI, OGDC, SNGPL, SSGC, and FFC traded in the green.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 141,034.98 level, showing an increase of 1,644.56 points or 1.18%.
In a significant development, the US administration imposed a 19% reciprocal tariff on a broad range of Pakistani products—substantially lower than the originally proposed 29%—under a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
On Friday, a total of 603,430,399 shares were traded as compared to 577,348,593 shares on the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 50.156 billion against PKR 36.348 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 482 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 199 of them recorded gains and 245 met losses, whereas the share price of 38 companies remained unchanged.
On Thursday, PSX roared back to life as bullish momentum dominated the trading floor. This sharp surge came on the heels of a surprise tweet by US President Donald Trump, who announced what he described as a historic trade deal with Pakistan.
Global trend
Asian markets declined on Friday after the United States imposed steep tariffs on dozens of trading partners, adding to investor caution ahead of key US jobs data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on a potential rate cut next month.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.7%, extending its weekly loss to 1.8%. South Korea’s KOSPI led the declines with a sharp 3% fall, while Taiwan’s market slipped 0.9%.
Japan’s Nikkei edged down 0.4%, Chinese blue-chip stocks remained flat, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index managed a modest gain of 0.2%.
In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures dipped 0.2%. Meanwhile, U.S. markets showed signs of weakness, with both Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures easing 0.2% following disappointing earnings from Amazon, whose shares plunged 6.6% in after-hours trading.
