Buying continues at bourse, KSE-100 up nearly 500 points

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 500 points during the opening minutes of trading. At 9: 35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 184, 992. 43, up by 471. 47 points or 0. 26%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including chemical, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, MCB and MEBL, traded in the green. Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 21. 57% and reached $39. 471 billion during the financial year 2025-26 as compared to $32. 467 billion in the previous year, driven by a decline in exports and a sharp increase in imports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday. On Thursday, the PSX extended its winning streak as easing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, coupled with a sharp decline in international oil prices, continued to underpin investor confidence. However, late-session profit-taking erased part of the day’s gains, leaving the benchmark index with a modest positive close. The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 184, 520. 96 points, gaining 470. 86 points or 0. 26%. Globally, stocks made a mixed start ​ to the Asian trading session on Friday after a lukewarm US jobs report poured cold ‌water on the prospect of an imminent rate hike from the Federal Reserve. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fluctuated between gains and losses, edging up 0. 1% after two consecutive days of declines. South Korea’s Kospi weighed on the regional benchmark in ​sympathy with sharp falls in chipmakers in US trading. S&P 500 e-mini futures and Nasdaq e-mini ​futures were both up 0. 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1%. U. S. job growth ⁠slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower, according to data released ​on Thursday, pointing to a cooling labour market. The unemployment rate dropped to 4. 2% last month from 4. 3% ​in May as workers left the labour force, pushing the participation rate to the lowest level in more than five years. This is an intraday update

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