Pakistan’s Stock Exchange (PSX) continued to witness volatility during trading on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index initially gaining more than 400 points before slipping into negative territory, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
At the start of trading, the Pakistan Stock Exchange recorded a positive trend. The KSE-100 Index rose by more than 400 points, reaching 175,409 points, but later lost more than 200 points.
At Friday prayers break, the index gained 268.36 points to reach 175,198.04 points, or 0.15 percent.
Selling was observed in key sectors, including commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, POL, PPL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red.
On Thursday, PSX remained highly volatile as rising international oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts kept investors cautious, although late-session profit-taking failed to erase a modest recovery in the benchmark KSE-100 Index.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 153.09 points, or 0.09%, to close at 174,929.69 points.
Globally, Asian shares rose on Friday as investors embraced a global rally ahead of crucial U.S. jobs data, while bonds found some much-needed relief after a top Federal Reserve official cooled rate-hike fears and dragged the dollar lower.
The dollar’s retreat turbocharged a rally in the yen, which has gained 2.6% this week to trade at 155.7 a dollar, putting it within striking distance of the 155.2 level reached after joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington in late July.
Reporter: Basim Iftikhar/Agencies