The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its upward momentum on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,000 points to close near the 151,000 level.
Buying rally continued throughout the trading session, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 151,075.67.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 150,975.48, an increase of 1,004.36 points or 0.67%.
“The improvement on the macroeconomic front, coupled with better-than-expected corporate earnings, has fueled optimism in the market,” Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company Limited, told media.
He highlighted that expectations of further enhancement in corporate profitability also add to investor confidence.
In a key development, Pakistan’s trade deficit significantly increased by over 30% to $2.87 billion in August 2025, as compared to the same month of the previous year, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Tuesday.
On Monday, the PSX began the new month with a powerful rally, driven by strong investor sentiment, robust buying interest in key sectors and an inflation reading that came in well below expectations.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 1,353 points, or 0.91%, to close at 149,971.12 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks edged higher while the US dollar lurked near five-week lows and gold climbed to a record high on Tuesday, as investors girded for a slate of economic data this week, including the crucial US labour report on Friday.
Markets widely expect the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month, pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point cut, but data this week will help investors gauge whether the central bank could perhaps lean toward a jumbo cut.
The focus will be on Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls report, which will be preceded by data on job openings and private payrolls, providing investors and the Fed a clearer picture of the labour market that has become the centre of policy debate.
The US inflation report for August is scheduled to be released on September 11, a week before the Fed’s policy meeting.
The prospect of lower borrowing costs has kept Wall Street near record highs, while stocks in other regions have also gained in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2% higher.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.39% after dropping more than 1% on Monday. Nasdaq futures rose 0.07% while European futures inched higher.
China stocks have been on a tear, buoyed by AI enthusiasm.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.26% on Tuesday to hit a three-year high for the third straight session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index eased 0.19% in early trading after surging 2% on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee maintained its positive momentum, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the rupee settled at 281.72, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback. This was rupee’s 18th successive gain against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 1,081.07 million from 1,183.07 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs44.42 billion from Rs48.85 billion in the previous session.
B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 174.39 million shares, followed by Pak Elektron with 52.72 million shares, and F. Nat.Equities with 39.77 million shares.
On the gainers’ side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited rose by Rs283.80 to close at Rs32,984.80, while Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering added Rs133.37 to settle at Rs1,692.35. Conversely, PIA Holding Company Limited-B fell by Rs642.5 to Rs26,657.50, and Hoechst Pakistan Limited shed Rs237.28 to Rs3,789.35, leading the laggards.
Shares of 479 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 226 registered an increase, 232 recorded a fall, while 21 remained unchanged.
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