Pakistan stocks lackluster as government ends contracts of power producers

Pakistan stocks remained under pressure on Friday as negotiations with power producers, which led to early termination agreements with five IPPs, shifted market sentiment.

The stocks traded mostly in the negative zone. However, stocks recovered in the late session, driven by strong earnings outlooks in the banking and auto sectors.

The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) revision of exposure limits for SMEs, positive car sales data, and record remittances of $2.8 billion in September also contributed to the positive close.

The KSE-100 index gained 0.04% or 30.18 points to close at 85,483.40 points.

Indian benchmarks fell daily and weekly on Friday due to foreign outflows, slowing earnings, and Middle East tensions.

Foreign investors sold $7.8 billion in Indian shares over nine sessions, redirecting funds to China after its stimulus measures.

The rupee dropped below 84 per dollar, pressured by rising oil prices and foreign money exiting the market.

Investors booked profits over the last two weeks amid these concerns, according to Divam Sharma of Green Portfolio.

India’s BSE 100 Index lost 0.09% or 22.62 points to close at 26,491.42 points.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index gained 0.07% or 3.12 points to close at 4,440.68 points.

Commodities

Oil prices fell on Friday after a 3% surge on Thursday due to profit-taking.

Despite earlier pressure from rising US inventories and easing geopolitical concerns, prices are set for a second week of gains, buoyed by supply disruptions from Hurricane Milton shutting down US refineries.

Brent crude prices fell 0.38% to $76.89 per barrel.

Gold prices rose on Friday, driven by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The dollar index dropped, making gold more appealing to other currency holders.

Recent data showed U.S. consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September, and jobless claims increased to 258,000. This positive data has led to short-term gains for gold.

International gold prices increased 0.44% reaching $2,644.47 per ounce. In Pakistan, gold prices increased by PKR 2,700 to PKR 273,900/tola on Friday.

Currency

US dollar weakened against PKR, down 0.05% in the inter-bank market. Pakistani currency settled at 277.63, a loss of 16 paisas against the US dollar. In the open market USD was trading at PKR 280.