Positive momentum returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday amid reports of a potential diplomatic breakthrough, with mediating nations, including Pakistan, working to convene high-level talks in Islamabad as early as this week to ease tensions in the Middle East.
The market opened on a strong note, briefly touching an intra-day high of 157,443, indicating early aggressive buying. However, the rally proved short-lived as sharp profit-taking kicked in soon after, dragging the index down quickly toward the 154,000 level within the first hour.
The index later slipped closer to the day’s low of 153,382, indicating cautious investor behaviour.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 153,966.36, a gain of 1,225.99 points or 0.80%.
“So, what we saw today is classic PSX behaviour; optimism at the open, followed by hesitation,” Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, told media.
“Investors aren’t necessarily bearish… they’re just not convinced. There’s money willing to take positions, but not enough confidence to hold them.
“It’s not just about positive news now, the market is searching for clarity, direction, and a reason to believe,” he added.
Brokerage house Topline Securitie said the day began on a hopeful note, as the local bourse took cues from buoyant international markets. “Easing geopolitical tensions and a dip in global oil prices set the stage for optimism, inviting bulls to charge early into the session.”
“Despite the promising start, trading activity remained thin — a silent warning that the rally lacked strong hands behind it. With volumes failing to support the surge, the market gradually gave up a significant portion of its gains,” it added.
During the previous week, PSX remained under sustained pressure as it extended its losing streak to eight consecutive weeks, reflecting persistent investor caution amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a mixed domestic macroeconomic backdrop. The KSE-100 Index declined by 1,126 points on a week-on-week basis, or 0.73%, to close at 152,740 points.
Globally, stocks were on tenterhooks and oil prices rose in choppy trade on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump’s postponement of the bombing of Iran’s power grid proved no panacea for investors worried about the ramifications of the Middle East war.
US Treasury yields pushed higher, and the dollar regained lost ground, in a retracement of the relief rally that swept markets overnight after Trump added five days to his Saturday ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, citing “productive” talks with Tehran.
Much uncertainty remained as the world continues to grapple with an energy shock, while Iran denied that it had engaged in negotiations with the US.
Asian shares were up on Tuesday in a catch-up rally to global counterparts. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1%, while Tokyo’s Nikkei advanced 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 1.4%.
But US futures turned lower after Wall Street ended higher in the overnight cash session. Nasdaq futures were down 0.6%, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.5%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures similarly slid 0.9% and FTSE futures edged 0.8% lower.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 279.22, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 375.34 million from 326.64 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs22.98 billion from Rs19.40 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 35.83 million shares, followed by Unity Foods Ltd with 31.58 million shares, and B.O.PunjabXD with 24.52 million shares.
Shares of 485 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 277 registered an increase, 141 recorded a fall, and 67 remained unchanged.
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