KSE-100 gains 266 points as investors stay cautious
Benchmark index closed at 170,765.22 points, up 0.16 percent after Thursday's fall of 1,733.57 points, with investors wary of Iran-US tensions.
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 index closed higher on Friday, gaining 266.28 points, or 0.16 percent, to settle at 170,765.22, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The index had closed at 170,498.95 in the previous session on Thursday.
The modest recovery followed a heavy loss the previous day. In a separate report, APP said the KSE-100 fell 1,733.57 points on Thursday, a drop of 1.01 percent, closing at 170,498.95 after ending Wednesday at 172,232.51. Thursday’s ready market trading volume stood at 759.974 million shares, APP reported.
Minute Mirror reported that trading on Friday remained mixed as investors adopted a cautious approach amid tensions between Iran and the United States. It said the index gained 266 points during the session to close at 170,765 points, but sentiment stayed watchful because of uncertainty over geopolitical developments and their possible effect on regional and global markets.
Neither outlet attributed Friday’s move to a single factor. Market sources quoted by Minute Mirror said investors were monitoring developments that could affect regional and global markets.
The week therefore saw the benchmark move from 172,232.51 on Wednesday to 170,498.95 on Thursday, then to 170,765.22 on Friday, leaving it 1,467.29 points below Wednesday’s close. APP’s Friday report described the session as bullish with a positive change of 0.16 percent; its Thursday report described a bearish turn with a negative change of 1.01 percent. No trading-volume figure for Friday was provided in the reports reviewed.
The KSE-100 is the main equity index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, based in Karachi. Daily moves in the index are closely watched by investors and businesses across the country.
Both APP and Minute Mirror reported the same closing level for the index, though APP gave the precise figure of 170,765.22 while Minute Mirror rounded it to 170,765 points. The Iran-US tensions have kept global markets on edge in recent weeks, according to Minute Mirror, which said investors in Karachi were no exception. The report did not cite any domestic political or economic development as a driver of Friday's session. No further detail on market drivers was available in the reports.
ECP sets ward delimitation for Quetta and Kharian cantonment boards
Quetta moves from Class-II to Class-I and Kharian from Class-III to Class-II, with 10 wards fixed in Quetta and five in Kharian under notifications issued on 29 October.
Information ministry blames Kabul inaction for strained Pakistan-Afghanistan ties
The ministry rejected a Taliban spokesperson's account of the dispute, saying cross-border militancy remains the biggest obstacle to normal relations between the neighbours.
Tarar proposes national council on cyber security and digital literacy
The information minister used the PTA's Cyber Security Awareness Week to float a coordinating body and to call for digital literacy in school curricula.
Health minister says barcode scan will flag fake medicines from November
Mustafa Kamal told the National Assembly that hospitals will also have to buy all vaccines from Pakistan's own funds by 2030, at a cost of about $1.2 billion.