Bulls continued to make further inroads at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 400 points during the first half of the trading session on Friday.
At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 172,379.98, an increase of 419.34 points or 0.24%.
Buying was observed in key sectors, including cement, chemical, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green.
On a corporate front, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited (RMPL) received a firm intention from Nishat Group–linked entities and members of the Mansha family to acquire control and up to 75.69% of its voting shares.
On Thursday, PSX continued its remarkable upward trajectory as the index surged to a new historic closing high, supported by declining Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) yields, encouraging macroeconomic indicators, and heightened merger and acquisition activity across key sectors. The benchmark KSE-100 index advanced by 1,646.79 points or 0.97%.
Internationally, Asian share markets rebounded on Friday as a turnaround in tech lifted Wall Street, leaving investors counting down to a likely hike in interest rates from the Bank of Japan that could cause waves for currencies and bonds.
Sentiment also got a boost from a shock slowdown in US consumer price inflation to 2.7%, though analysts cautioned the data were clearly distorted lower by the government shutdown and could not be taken at face value.
Pricing for the Federal Reserve moved only marginally, with a rate cut in January implied at just 27%, while March nudged up to 58% from 54% before the data.
Markets imply around a 90% chance the BOJ will raise its rate a quarter point to 0.75% later Friday, with much resting on the outlook for further tightening ahead.
Investors are wagering on just one further move to 1.0% in 2026, and any hint of more could offer much-needed support to the embattled yen, but also pile pressure on government bonds.
For now, markets were content to follow Wall Street’s lead, and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6%. South Korea climbed 1.2% encouraged by stellar results from chipmaker Micron Technology.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2%.
This is an intra-day update
