The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed higher as the KSE-100 Index gained more than 600 points on Friday.

The 100 Index gained 609.18 points or 0.98% to settle at 63,002.91 at the closing of the market.

Similarly, the KSE-30 Index added 178.31 points or 0.84% to reach 21,327.87 at the closing of the trading session.

In its technical outlook on Friday, the JS Global Online said that the benchmark index was expected to test the resistance at Thursday’s high of 62,480.

The firm recommended that investors should “buy on dips” with risk defined below the 61,765 level. “The support and resistance are at 61,945 and 62,661 levels, respectively,” it said.

Asian markets rallied Friday, tracking a surge on Wall Street fuelled by bargain-buying from the previous day’s sell-off, while strong earnings from tech titans soothed worries about the impact of higher interest rates on bottom lines.

Disappointment over the Federal Reserve’s warning this week that borrowing costs would not likely be cut in March was tempered by the knowledge they are all but certain to come down this year.

Data indicating a softening US labour market – jobless claims rose and private-sector jobs creation came in below forecasts – added to the optimism that the central bank will move several times before 2025.

(With input from AFP)