Pakistan stocks rebound, ending four-day losing streak

Pakistan's stock market closed positively on Friday, ending a four-session losing streak.

The market initially opened on a negative note and traded in the red zone during the first half of the trading session, with the index hitting an intraday low of -625 points (-0.55%).

However, institutional investors stepped in during the second half to buy the dip, helping the index recover by the end of the final trading day of the week.

KSE-100 index gained 0.54% or 609.03 points to close at 113,247.29 points.

India's stock market kept falling on Friday. The reasons include Donald Trump about to become the US president, uncertainty about the US Reserve Bank's plans, and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continuing to sell.

Investors are also being cautious ahead of the December quarter (Q3) earnings.

BSE-100 index lost 0.76% or 188.80 points to close at 24,629.61 points.

DFM General Index shed 0.02% or 1.02 points to close at 5,228.32 points.

Commodities

Oil prices have increased by more than 3% due to concerns about new sanctions on Russia and Iran. In the long term, the market is worried about more sanctions. In the short term, the cold weather in the U.S. is increasing fuel demand.

With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, there are growing expectations of supply disruptions from tighter sanctions on Iran and Russia, while oil stockpiles remain low.

Brent crude prices gained 3.21% to $79.39 per barrel.

The price of gold has been rising steadily for four days and has reached its highest level in four months, around $2,680, during Friday morning in Europe.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war, unrest in the Middle East, trade war concerns, and a weaker market sentiment are encouraging investors to buy gold as a safe haven.

International gold prices increased 0.25% reaching $2,676.23 per ounce.

Currency

US dollar eased against PKR in the inter-bank market. Pakistani currency gained 3 paisas to 278.57. In the open market USD was trading at PKR 280.