PSX: Buying at bourse, KSE-100 up over 1,600 points

Buying interest was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 800 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday. At 10: 10am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171, 244. 99, up by 1, 644. 59 points or 0. 97%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green. In a key development, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Tuesday unveiled a Strategic Action Plan for Pakistan’s Local Currency Bond Market (LCBM) under its International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported programme pledge to address market bottlenecks, while targeting deeper secondary-market liquidity, a broader investor base, more predictable government borrowing and reforms to the legal, tax and financial-market infrastructure governing rupee-denominated securities. On Tuesday, the PSX came under renewed selling pressure as rising global crude prices and persistent Middle East geopolitical tensions triggered a late-session sell-off, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index below the 170, 000-point level. The index fell 825. 22 points, or 0. 48%, to close at 169, 600. 41 points. Internationally, global bonds wobbled on Wednesday and were set for their worst month in years, hit by a toxic mix of deteriorating government finances, a glut of issuances and rising inflation as the seven-month-old US-Israeli war on Iran keeps energy costs elevated. Meanwhile, stocks fared better, largely unfazed by the surge in bond yields and were upbeat in Asia. The rise in borrowing costs has been front-and-centre for investors, given that sovereign yields are an anchor for global markets, a reference price for investing in riskier stocks and a benchmark for mortgages and corporate borrowing. While a persistently higher risk-free rate increases the cost of refinancing for companies and weighs on growth, its impact on stocks has thus far been relatively limited. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 0. 2% in early trading and was on track for a monthly fall of just over 1%. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0. 9% and was set to end the month little changed, while South Korea’s Kospi was headed for a monthly gain of 1. 4%. This is an intraday update

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