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PSX reclaims 165K milestone amid IMF optimism | The Express Tribune
The benchmark reclaimed the market’s key psychological level on a closing basis for the first time in 25 days
Pakistan’s stock market surged with renewed vigour as the KSE-100 Index jumped 2,185 points to close at 165,373, marking a robust 1.34% gain. The benchmark reclaimed the psychologically important 165,000 level on a closing basis for the first time in 25 days—since October 22—easing rollover week concerns and signalling a strong bullish comeback.
“The session opened on a strong footing and maintained its positive trajectory throughout the day,” said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd. “This rally was largely driven by optimism surrounding the IMF Board meeting scheduled for December 8, following Pakistan’s Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with the Fund for the second review of the $7 billion EFF programme and the first review of the $1.4 billion RSF facility.”
Market sentiment was further buoyed by reports that the Reko Diq project is expected to achieve financial close within the next two weeks, securing $3.5 billion in funding for the multibillion-dollar copper and gold mining venture.
Read: PSX sees strong rebound as investor confidence boosts index by 1,496 points
This kept E&P stocks in the spotlight, with PPL and OGDC jointly contributing 303 points. FATIMA and LUCK also attracted renewed buying interest due to their mining-linked exposure, together adding 331 points to the day’s bull run.
Market activity remained moderate, with 495.7 million shares traded and total turnover amounting to Rs30.5 billion. DSL led the volume chart with 48.4 million shares.
As anticipated, the PSX crossed the 165,000 mark today. Looking ahead, the KSE-100 Index is likely to extend its bullish trend on Friday, supported by end-of-month window dressing. The index may even push above its current 160,000–170,000 consolidation zone.
The supply chain risk designation of the artificial intelligence firm is a first for a US company.
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UniQure needs to run another study to prove that its gene therapy “actually helps people with Huntington’s disease,” a senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on a call with reporters Thursday.
The official, who requested anonymity before discussing sensitive information, confirmed the agency has asked the company to run a placebo controlled trial of its treatment, which is administered directly into the brain. UniQure has said that type of study isn’t ethical because it would require putting people under general anesthesia for hours, a characterization the official disputed.
“So what is really going on? UniQure is the latest company to make a failed therapy for Huntington’s patients,” the official said. “They likely acknowledge or understand at some deep level that their trial failed years ago, and instead of doing the right thing and running the correct clinical study, UniQure is performing a distorted or manipulated comparison in the mind of FDA.”
The comments mark the latest development in a messy public spat between UniQure and the FDA, and as the agency comes under fire for a number of recent drug approval application rejections, including some where companies have accused it of going back on previous guidance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick last week seemingly criticized UniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. Makary didn’t name UniQure but described its treatment.
UniQure then accused the FDA of reversing its stance that the company’s clinical trial data would be sufficient to seek approval. UniQure’s study used an outside database to measure how patients with Huntington’s disease might decline without treatment, known as an external control. UniQure has said it wouldn’t be feasible to run a true randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, considered the gold standard, because it wouldn’t be ethical to make people undergo a sham hours-long brain surgery.
The FDA official said the agency “never agreed to accept this distorted comparison” and the FDA “never makes such assurances.” Instead, the “FDA will always say, ‘Well, we have to see the data when we get it.'”
UniQure didn’t immediately comment.
The company’s stock rose more than 10% on Thursday and has fallen 58% this year as of Thursday afternoon.
Business
US mortgage rates rise to 6% after three-week slide as oil-driven bond yields climb – The Times of India
The average long-term US mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a three-week decline as bond yields rose amid oil-price pressures linked to the war with Iran.The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6% from 5.98% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said on Thursday. A year ago, the average rate stood at 6.63%, AP reported.The modest uptick breaks a three-week slide in borrowing costs, with mortgage rates having hovered close to the 6% mark for most of this year. Last week’s average had marked the first time the rate dipped below 6% since September 2022, reaching its lowest level in nearly three and a half years.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy, investor expectations about inflation and economic growth, and movements in the bond market.They typically track the direction of the 10-year US Treasury yield, which lenders use as a benchmark for pricing home loans.The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.14% at midday Thursday, up from around 4% a week earlier.Treasury yields have moved higher in recent days as rising oil prices added fresh inflation concerns, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates.
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