PSX: KSE-100 closes week on a positive

According to Business Recorder, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a choppy session on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 swinging both ways before finishing nearly 600 points higher. The index slid to an intraday low of 176,110.75 in the first half, then recovered after midday and climbed to 177,583.36 in the final hours. It ended at 177,166.52, up 574.76 points or 0.33 per cent, after giving back part of its late gains.

On Thursday, the index had lost 254.59 points, or 0.14 per cent, to end at 176,591.77 as geopolitical tension and higher oil prices kept investors wary. Asian markets were on course for weekly declines on Friday and pressure from global bond markets showed no sign of easing. Yields on US Treasuries rose again after an unexpected intervention on Wednesday provided just one day of respite.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that buybacks of Treasuries could expand and floated fiscal consolidation, yet analysts doubted spending cuts would be deep enough to tame a deficit above 6 per cent of GDP. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.8 per cent and was down 4.4 per cent for the week so far, while MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 0.5 per cent. Higher bond yields raise debt costs, and large tech firms borrowing heavily for AI investment face a higher discount applied to corporate earnings and make stock valuations harder to justify.