PSX: buying continues, KSE-100 up over 700 points

Buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday. At 9: 35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 170, 675. 18, up 705. 86 points or 0. 42%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including DGKC, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, MARI, POL and PSO, traded in the green. In a key development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) extended on Wednesday the deadline for filing income tax returns for tax year 2026 from September 30 to October 15. The PSX extended its recovery on Wednesday as selective buying in commercial banks, cement and fertiliser stocks supported the market, lifting the market. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained by 368. 92 points, or 0. 22%, to 169, 969. 33 points. Globally, Asian stocks were subdued on Thursday, and global bonds remained under pressure after a brutal September as investors weighed a slower-than-expected rise in US inflation in August that lessens the probability of a rate hike later this month. Blockbuster earnings from AI chipmaker Micron failed to lift the frayed mood in Asia, while stalling peace talks between the US and Iran to end the seven-month-long war in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, further subduing sentiment. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0. 2%, with South Korea’s KOSPI easing 0. 14%. Japan’s Nikkei though, was up over 1% as chip-related shares rose. Futures for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were up 0. 3%. European stock futures slid 0. 75% in early trading. Data on Wednesday showed US inflation increased less than expected in August and price pressures were more moderate in the prior month than previously reported, leading traders to rein in wagers of a Federal Reserve rate hike on October 28. Traders are now ⁠pricing in a 38% chance of a hike this month, versus 50% a day earlier, CME’s FedWatch tool showed. The Fed raised rates in September for the first time in three years, and flagged further increases in borrowing costs in the months ahead. This is an intraday update

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