PSX extends rally, KSE-100 up nearly 700 points at open

Bulls continued to make further inroads at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday.

At 10:05am, the benchmark index was hovering at 172,658.90, an increase of 698.26 points or 0.41%.

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