A day after observing a massive selloff that saw the largest single-session decline in the bourse’s history, buying momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 5,100 points on Tuesday.
The stock market observed heightened volatility at the open, with the benchmark index initially dipping sharply toward the intraday low of 151,258.85 before witnessing aggressive buying interest.
During the mid-session, the market moved in a range-bound pattern, moving between the 153,000 and 154,500 levels as participants consolidated gains. However, buying momentum picked up in the final hours of the trading session.
The KSE-100 surged past the 156,000 mark and hit an intraday high of 158,217.01 before settling slightly lower by the end.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 157,132.09, a gain of 5,159.10 points or 3.39%.
On Monday, PSX suffered one of the most dramatic trading days in its history as mounting geopolitical tensions and sharp global risk aversion sparked a massive selloff, wiping out vast amounts of market value and shaking investor confidence nationwide.
By the closing bell, the KSE-100 had fallen a staggering 16,089.17 points, i.e. 9.57%, settling at 151,973.00, marking the largest single-day point decline on record.
Internationally, stocks resumed their selloff and the dollar strengthened in early Asian trading on Tuesday as investors considered the implications of US and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1% to extend losses for a second day, led by a 2.5% tumble in Korean shares, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slumped 0.8%.
S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.2%.
Stocks on Wall Street stabilised after a volatile session on Monday, which saw the S&P 500 rally from an early selloff to close flat and the Nasdaq Composite climb 0.4%, as investors bought the dip in markets after the conflict in the Middle East spilt over into Lebanon.
With no end to hostilities in sight, an official from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to marine traffic and the country will fire on any ship trying to pass.
Oil and gas prices jumped on Monday, with Brent crude futures surging as much as 13% to $82.37 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, before settling up 7.1% at $78.07 a barrel. In natural gas markets, benchmark European and Asian LNG prices leapt by around 40% on Monday.
The surge in energy prices complicates the Federal Reserve’s efforts to keep inflation under control, with policymakers already showing signs of division around the impact of artificial intelligence on the U.S. economy.
Volume on the all-share index declined to 770.69 million from 809.55 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares decreased to Rs44.36 billion from Rs48.51 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd. was the volume leader with 74.40 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 50.04 million shares, and Pak Elektron with 38.23 million shares.
Shares of 480 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 213 registered an increase, 228 recorded a fall, and 39 remained unchanged.
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