Range-bound trading at PSX, KSE-100 loses nearly 300 points

A range-bound session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 300 points during the second half of the trading session on Friday.

At 2:50pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 113,442.66 level, a loss of 296.49 points or 0.26%.

Selling was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including PSO, SSGC, OGDC, PPL, MEBL, NBP and UBL traded in the red.

In a key development, it was learnt that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will arrive in Islamabad next week to discuss around $1 billion in climate financing for Pakistan.

Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the country’s finance minister, told Reuters on Thursday that the mission would visit from February 24 to 28 for a “review and discussion” of climate resilience funding.

On Thursday, buying spree continued at the PSX, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 400 points to settle at 113,739.16.

Internationally, Asian shares rose on Friday, reversing Wall Street’s negative lead as the U.S. exceptionalism narrative continued to lose its shine, while once unloved Chinese stocks found themselves more buyers thanks to optimism over artificial intelligence (AI).

Gold hovered near a record high and was set to extend its gains for an eighth consecutive week, helped by safe-haven flows due to concerns over Donald Trump’s tariff threats and amid contentious talks as the US President pushes for a quick deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8% in the early Asian session, boosted by a jump in Hong Kong-listed stocks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.8% shortly after the open, while tech shares surged 2.5%.

Similarly, China’s CSI300 blue-chip index gained 0.2%, with the CSI big data index rising 2%.

Chinese stocks have been on a tear in recent days, driven by DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough that reignited investor interest in China’s technology capabilities.

While the Hang Seng Tech Index has gained 26% for the year thus far, the S&P 500 is up just 4% over the same period.

This is an intra-day report