The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed trading on Monday, with its benchmark KSE-100 Index swaying in both directions before closing the day nearly flat.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 122,903.34, following by selling pressure that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 121,889.96.
Some buying in the final hours helped the KSE-100 recover the losses and close the session in the green.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 122,225.36, marginally up by 81.79 points or 0.07%.
Earlier, buying interest was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, FFC, UBL and MCB traded in the green.
During the previous week, the PSX navigated through a volatile week, where a historic market rally driven by budget optimism and monetary easing hopes was swiftly overshadowed by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, forcing investors to lock in profits and adopt a cautious stance.
The trading week began on a promising note, with the market welcoming the unveiling of the Rs17.3 trillion federal budget for FY26. The government refrained from introducing any adverse fiscal measures for the capital markets, and in fact, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) provisions turned out better than expected. This encouraged mutual funds and institutional investors to divert funds towards equities.
The KSE-100 Index settled at 122,144 points, reflecting a modest 0.4% week-on-week gain, or 502 points.
Internationally, Asian markets kept their nerve on Monday and oil prices climbed anew as the conflict between Israel and Iran showed no sign of cooling, adding geopolitical uncertainty to the world’s economic troubles in a week packed with central bank meetings.
Yet there was no sign of panic among investors with currency markets calm and Wall Street stock futures steadying after an early dip.
Oil did add 1% to last week’s 13% surge in an inflationary pulse that, if sustained, should make the Federal Reserve even less likely to cut interest rates when it meets on Wednesday.
Futures imply almost no chance of a reduction in the 4.25% to 4.5% rate band, and scant prospect of a move in July either. Markets will be particularly sensitive to any change in the Fed’s “dot plot” path for rates.
Markets are still wagering on two easings by December, with a first move in September seen as most likely.
For now, investors were waiting on developments and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1%.
Japan’s Nikkei firmed 0.8% and South Korean stocks added 0.5%.
Chinese blue chips added 0.1% as data showed retail sales rose 6.4% in May to handily top forecasts, while industrial output was in line with expectations.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% and Nasdaq futures gained 0.2%, recovering from an early dip.
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