Daily Times

The 100-Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with bullish trend on Thursday, gaining 997.95 more points, a positive change of 1.24 percent, closing at 81,459.29 points against 80,461.34 points on the last working day.

A total of 459,037,985 shares were traded during the day as compared to 400,195,963 shares the previous day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 18.610 billion against Rs. 15.904 billion on the last trading day.

As many as 469 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 145 of them recorded gains and 239 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 85 companies remained unchanged.

The three top trading companies were Kohinoor Spinning with 35,184,576 shares at Rs 8.01 per share, K-Electric Limited with 23,819,654 shares at Rs 3.99 per share and WorldCall Telecom with 22,930,170 shares at Rs 1.33 per share.

Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs 141.10 per share price, closing at Rs 17,508.33 , whereas the runner-up was Luck Cement Industries Limited with Rs 60.73 rise in its per share price to Rs 1,075.91.

Hallmark Company Limited witnessed a maximum decrease of Rs 77.07 per share closing at Rs 822.91 followed by Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering with Rs 46.55 decline to close at Rs 479.57.

Asian Stocks

Tokyo’s Nikkei led Asian markets higher Thursday as the yen hit a two-week high after the Federal Reserve announced a bumper interest rate cut and pledged a series of further reductions that boosted sentiment.

After a keenly awaited meeting the US central bank decided to lower borrowing costs for the first time since the start of the pandemic by opting for a half-point reduction.

However, the bigger of two options – some had expected a 25-basis-point cut – split opinion, with some warning it could reignite inflation while others said it showed the bank was keeping ahead of the curve in supporting the economy in light of weak jobs data.

The bank’s “dot plot” guidance indicated another 50 points of reductions before January, followed by 100 next year and 50 in 2026.

After the meeting, Fed boss Jerome Powell said the economy was in “good shape” pointing to lower inflation and solid growth.

“The labour market is in a strong place. We want to keep it there,” he told reporters.

But he cautioned that the central bank would “go carefully” and weigh the matter “meeting by meeting” as it looks to keep easing.

“It is time to recalibrate our policy to something that is more appropriate, given the progress on inflation, and on employment moving to a more sustainable level.

“This is the beginning of that process.”

Equities have rallied through the year on expectations the cycle of tightening, which started in 2022, would come to an end this year as inflation slows and the labour market softens.

But, after an initial burst higher following the announcement – pushing the S&P 500 to a new record – Wall Street retreated and ended in the red.

Analysts pointed out that investors had largely factored in 125 points of reductions this year, so a correction in valuations was to be expected.

Christian Hoffmann at Thornburg Investment Management said: “Considering the one dissenting voice from a governor… the Fed must have grappled with concerns not just about doing too much versus too little, but also concerns about signalling to markets, and perhaps more subtly, political optics and legacy considerations.