Pakistan stocks decline on institutional profit taking as results season nears end

Pakistan stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as institutional investors engaged in profit-taking near the close of earnings season.

The benchmark KSE-100 index remained in the red for most of the day, with significant losses occurring in the latter half of the session.

Major laggards included the Commercial Banks, Fertilizer, and Cement sectors, which together shed 936 points from the index.

The KSE-100 index lost a total of 1,320 points, closing at 88,967, down by 1.46%.

Indian headline indices fell for the second day in a row on Thursday due to continued foreign selling. Traders believe the Federal Reserve will reduce U.S. interest rates by 0.25% next week and likely again in December due to easing inflation pressures.

The Fed's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index, rose 2.1% year-over-year in September, down from 2.3% in August. The Fed's inflation target is 2%.

India’s BSE 100 Index lost 0.58% or 148.29 points to close at 25,526.30 points.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index shed 0.29% or 13.47 points to close at 4,591.05 points.

Commodities

Oil prices stabilized on Thursday following a rally driven by stronger-than-expected U.S. fuel demand and reports that OPEC+ might delay a planned output increase.

Traders are now focusing on the upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5 and the possibility of ceasefires in the Middle East.

Brent crude prices surged 0.83% to $73.15 per barrel.

Gold prices eased on Thursday due to a rise in US Treasury bond yields. Additionally, expectations of a less aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve put downward pressure on gold.

However, significant declines in gold prices appear unlikely amid uncertainty surrounding the US presidential election and Middle East tensions.

International gold prices decreased 0.6% reaching $2,771.07 per ounce. In Pakistan, gold prices decreased by PKR 700 to PKR 287,200/tola on Thursday.

Currency

US dollar remained steady against PKR, up 0.03% in the inter-bank market. Pakistani currency settled at 277.84, a loss of 06 paisas against the US dollar. In the open market USD was trading at PKR 280.