The post-budget bull-run persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the buying spree lifted the index to historic high of 126,000 points but at the close of the day profit-taking was set in, reported24NewsHD TV channel.
At the end of the business, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index soared by 2,148 points or 1.55 percent to 126,247.18 points in midday but towards the end profit-taking ate up all the gains, leading the index to shed 259.56 points or -0.21 percent, to 124,093.12 points.
There was across-the-board buying in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, OMCs and refinery traded in the green but making profits overshelmed the investors in the end.
Of the total 474 companies traded so far, share prices of 170 companies wee up, of 270 companies were down while 34 were unchanged.
On Wednesday, the PSX had extended its rally as key indices posted strong gains, fuelled by robust investor participation and improved sentiment following the positive announcements in the federal budget.
The KSE-100 Index rose by 2,328 points, or 1.91%, to close at 124,352.68 points.
Internationally, global stocks and the dollar slipped on Thursday as investors assessed a benign US inflation report and the fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing, while rising tensions in the Middle East and lingering tariff anxiety dampened risk sentiment.
Attention in financial markets this week has been focused on the US-China trade talks, which culminated in a framework agreement that would remove Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and allow Chinese students to access US universities.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.3% lower in early trading after hitting a three-year high on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.7%, while U.S. and European stock futures fell.
China’s blue-chip stock index fell 0.37%, moving off the near three-week top it touched in the previous session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.74%, also inching away from Wednesday’s three-month high.
Trump’s erratic tariff policies have roiled global markets this year, prompting hordes of investors to exit US assets, especially the dollar, as they worried about rising prices and slowing economic growth.
Reporter Kavish Memon/Agencies