PSX rises over 800 points as current account deficit narrows 38%

Buying interest returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index advancing more than 800 points during the early trading session

KARACHI: Buying interest returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index advancing more than 800 points during the early trading session

as investors responded positively to improving external-sector indicators and renewed activity across major sectors.

At around 10:40am, the KSE-100 Index was trading at 178,769.66 points, showing an increase of 814.16 points, or 0.46%, from the previous close.

The session witnessed broad-based buying, particularly in automobile assemblers, cement companies, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies (OMCs) and power generation companies.

Several heavyweight stocks contributed to the upward movement. HUBCO, Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were among the prominent stocks trading in positive territory.

Current account deficit improves

Investor sentiment also received support from fresh external-sector data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which showed a significant reduction in the country’s current account deficit at the beginning of the new fiscal year.

According to SBP figures released on Tuesday, Pakistan recorded a current account deficit of $328 million in July 2026, compared with $529 million in the same month of the previous year.

The figures represent an improvement of $201 million, equivalent to a 38% year-on-year reduction in the deficit.

The improvement was attributed largely to stronger exports and robust workers’ remittances, which helped ease pressure on the country’s external account. The development is being closely watched by investors as Pakistan seeks to strengthen its foreign-exchange position and maintain greater stability in its external balances.

Previous session hit by selling pressure

The positive opening on Wednesday followed a difficult session a day earlier, when the PSX came under substantial selling pressure.

The KSE-100 Index dropped 2,546.94 points, or 1.41%, on Tuesday to close at 177,955.51 points.

Market participants had cited domestic political uncertainty and higher international crude oil prices among the factors weighing on investor confidence.

Wednesday’s recovery therefore reflects renewed buying at relatively lower levels, although market participants are expected to remain cautious amid developments in both domestic and international markets.

Asian markets remain under pressure

The recovery at the local bourse came despite a broadly weak trend across several major Asian markets.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 1.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei index fell 2.6% following technology-led losses on Wall Street in the previous session.

US and European stock futures were also marginally lower, with declines of around 0.1%, indicating continued caution among global investors.

Technology and semiconductor shares across Asia remained under pressure as investors assessed developments in the global technology sector and fresh reports concerning artificial intelligence companies.

In China, shares of humanoid-robot manufacturer Unitree recorded an extraordinary surge of around 600% on their market debut. The listing reportedly attracted exceptionally strong retail demand, with subscriptions exceeding available shares by more than 8,000 times.

Meanwhile, reports that Anthropic’s annualised revenue run rate had crossed $65 billion by the end of July also drew attention in global technology markets, although the figure was reportedly below some investor expectations.

Dollar gains modestly

The cautious global market environment provided some support to the US dollar, although movements in major currency markets remained relatively limited.

The Canadian dollar strengthened slightly after US President Donald Trump temporarily paused plans to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian goods for three days, saying the two countries had reached an agreement.

The euro was trading near $1.1576, while the Japanese yen stood at around 159.44 per US dollar.

The yen’s movement remained particularly significant for currency traders as it approached the psychologically important 160-per-dollar level. Market participants regard a sustained move beyond that threshold as a possible catalyst for renewed official intervention by Japanese authorities.