KSE-100 gains nearly 700 points as PSX extends recovery
The benchmark KSE-100 Index was up 686.85 points, or 0.41%, at 169,146.95 at 12:50pm on Wednesday, as buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange for a second consecutive session.
Gains were spread across automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas marketing companies, power generation and refinery sectors, according to the intraday update. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, POL, MCB, MEBL and UBL were trading in the green.
Separately, the Federal Board of Revenue told the International Monetary Fund that 1,016 returns have been filed by retailers and shopkeepers under the Aasan Tax Scheme, according to the report. The matter came to light during review talks for the fourth review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
Wednesday's move follows a strong recovery in the previous session, when the KSE-100 closed at 168,460.11, a gain of 2,592.79 points or 1.56%. The report attributed Tuesday's rise to easing concerns over global crude oil prices and value hunting after the preceding session's sharp decline.
Globally, the report said Asian markets were slightly weaker on Wednesday even as US stocks touched new highs, with oil prices rising as a storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico and tensions escalated between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had both closed at records on Tuesday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%. US crude was up 1.05% at $90.38 a barrel and Brent up 1.06% at $101.65, the report said, adding that sentiment in US equities followed a stabilisation in global bond yields overnight.
