Equities open in positive as all eyes set on PIA privatisation

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off trading on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 200 points during the opening minutes on Tuesday.

At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,451.44, an increase of 247.27 points or 0.14%.

Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, PSO, HASCOL, HBL, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green.

All eyes are set on the bidding for the 75% stake in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) today, with three consortia submitting their sealed bids for the control of the national flag carrier.

On Monday, the PSX remained under sustained pressure as the onset of the roll-over week dampened investor sentiment, resulting in a volatile yet predominantly bearish trading session. The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 200.31 points, or 0.12%, to settle at 171,204.18 points.

Internationally, Asia shares rose alongside precious metals on Tuesday as momentum buying from investors extended ahead of the festive holidays, with an advanced reading on US GDP expected later in the day.

The fragile yen found a floor as traders stayed alert to any signs of intervention from Japanese authorities to stem the currency’s slide, which has picked up pace in the wake of a well-telegraphed Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike on Friday.

Despite it being a holiday-shortened week for much of the world, investors will have the chance to catch up on a slew of US economic releases in the coming days, which had been delayed by a record government shutdown last month.

Tuesday’s key data point will be on third-quarter growth figures, which are forecast to show the US economy has continued to grow strongly.

Expectations are for annualised growth to come in at 3.3%, a slight pullback from the previous quarter due in part to a sharp pullback in imports after a run-up earlier in the year ahead of the introduction of tariffs.

Still, the market mood remained buoyant ahead of the outcome, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.31% in early trade, while Tokyo’s Nikkei tacked on 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were little changed while Nasdaq futures added 0.11%.

This is an intra-day update