Business Recorder
Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 3,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday. At 9:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 162,883.34, down by 2,940.53 points or 1.77%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. On Wednesday , PSX came under heavy selling pressure as disappointing corporate earnings, weakness in heavyweight stocks and cautious sentiment amid rising oil prices and geopolitical concerns pushed the Index sharply lower. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged 2,588.35 points, or 1.54%, to close at 165,823.88 points. Internationally, AI-related shares fared well in Asia on Thursday after a raft of generally positive earnings reports, while surging oil prices left bonds battered as central banks turned more hawkish on inflation and interest rates. Investors feared the European Central Bank and Bank of England would likely warn of higher rates later in the day, after three Federal Reserve members voted to drop its easing bias in the most divided decision since 1992. Outgoing Chair Jerome Powell also confirmed he would stay on as a governor for now to defend the institution’s independence as his successor Kevin Warsh, hand-picked by President Donald Trump , who wants lower interest rates, moves toward confirmation. Markets were quick to price out any rate cuts from the Fed this year, and there is a roughly even chance of a hike by next spring. US Treasury yields rose to a one-month high and the dollar gained broadly, hitting over 160 yen. In Asia, Nasdaq futures rallied 1% as earnings from Google’s parent company topped forecasts, sending its shares up 7% in extended trading. Results from and were also solid, raising hopes for Apple later in the day. Meta Platforms disappointed as it raised its annual capital spending forecast to plough billions more into artificial intelligence infrastructure, sending its shares down 7%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on Thursday, but was still set for a whopping 16% gain this month. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1% but was up a similar 16% in April. This is an intra-day update
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