The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward momentum on Tuesday, with the KSE-100 Index surpassing the 149,000 mark during the intraday trade, driven by positive investor sentiment in major sectors.
According to the PSX website, the market opened on a positive note and the benchmark index climbed to the 149,367.31 level, up by 1,170 points as of 10:21 am.Â
Buying activity was seen in sectors such as automobile assemblers, commercial banks, cement, and pharmaceuticals. Stocks of companies like DGKC, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and UBL were all trading in the positive.
Market analysts linked the rally to growing optimism following reports of the government’s upcoming circular debt reforms, which investors believe will help ease liquidity constraints in the energy sector, a long-standing issue for the economy.
At 12:15 pm, the market was hovering at 149,356.67 mark, up by 1160.25 or 0.78%.Â
On Monday, the PSX saw a strong performance, with the KSE-100 Index closing at 148,196.42 points.
Globally, stocks markets in Asia and oil prices edged lower on Tuesday before a key meeting of central bankers and as traders evaluated promising diplomatic signals toward ending hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
European equity futures posted modest gains after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said security guarantees for his nation will likely be worked out within 10 days after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.
Japan’s Nikkei share gauge set a new intraday record high before heading lower. The U.S. dollar held on to gains from the previous session as traders awaited policy hints from the Federal Reserve ahead of its annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.2% in early trading, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses.
Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.3%, German DAX futures rose 0.2%, and FTSE futures added 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose at the open before sliding 0.5%, dragged lower by a 5% plunge in SoftBank Group after the company announced a $2 billion stake in struggling U.S. chipmaker Intel.
The dollar was little changed at 147.78 yen. The euro traded steady at $1.1658, while the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, edged up to 98.171 after a 0.2% gain in the previous session.
U.S. crude dipped 0.2% to $63.29 a barrel. Spot gold was slightly higher at $3,334.9 per ounce.
