A day after shedding over 800 points, bullish momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,500 points during intra-day trading on Tuesday.
At 2:15pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 120,366.28, an increase of 1,488.48 points or 1.25%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, SNGPL, SSGC, OGDC, PPL, MCB, MEBL and UBL traded in the green.
In a key development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the forthcoming federal budget had been successful, paving the way for a new phase of economic growth.
The premier, while talking to a select group of journalists, said the government had stabilised the economy and would now shift its focus toward sustained development.
On Monday, PSX witnessed a volatile session on the first trading day of the week, as early bullish momentum was wiped out by heavy late-session selling, finally the benchmark index closed into negative territory.
The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 813.29 points or 0.68% to close at 118,878 points.
Internationally, Asian shares edged cautiously higher on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a six-week low as erratic US trade policies clouded over markets and investors turned defensive ahead of key developments later in the week.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
The call between the two leaders will be closely watched by markets to see if the tariff-induced blow to global stocks and the dollar this year could get some reprieve or ratchet up, as trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies simmer.
Data on Monday showed US manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in May and suppliers took the longest time in nearly three years to deliver inputs amid tariffs.
The gloomy global trade situation left US futures falling early in the Asian session, failing to sustain the slight gains made during the cash session on Wall Street overnight.
Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both down 0.2% each. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures advanced 0.28% and FTSE futures added 0.15%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed early losses to last trade 0.6% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.66%.
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