Positive sentiments returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 300 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.
At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 149,179.45, an increase of 364.15 points or 0.24%.
Buying interest was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, refinery and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SNGPL, HBL, NBP and UBL traded in the green.
On Monday, PSX came under renewed pressure as across-the-board profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment dragged the indices lower at the onset of rollover week. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged 677.75 points, or 0.45%, to close at 148,815.31.
Globally, stock markets in Asia followed declines on Wall Street after President Donald Trump announced he was firing a Federal Reserve governor, an unprecedented move that further undermines confidence in the Fed’s independence and US assets.
The US currency fell against the yen and euro after Trump said he was removing Lisa Cook from her position on the Fed’s board of directors, citing allegations of improprieties in obtaining mortgage loans and escalating the president’s battle against the central bank.
“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” the president said in a letter to Cook posted on his Truth Social platform, claiming there was enough evidence that Cook had made false statements on mortgage applications.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6%, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. Japan’s Nikkei index sank 1.1%.
Futures markets pointed to a nervous day ahead for Europe and the US.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.57%, German DAX futures were down 0.42% and FTSE futures fell 0.35%. The US S&P 500 e-minis slid 0.17%.
This is an intra-day update
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