Buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising by more than 1,600 points in early trade. The rebound came after US President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a planned military strike on Iran, which helped improve investor sentiment.
At 11:30am, the benchmark index was trading at 163,429.94, an increase of 1,624.92 points or 1.%.
Strong buying activity was seen across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and power generation. Key index-heavy stocks such as ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, MEBL, and UBL traded in positive territory.
This recovery followed a sharp decline on Monday, when the PSX faced intense selling pressure amid weak investor confidence. Concerns over stalled US-Iran negotiations, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and high international crude oil prices weighed heavily on the market.
The KSE-100 Index had fallen by 3,791.05 points, or 2.29%, closing at 161,805.02.
In global commodities, oil prices also softened in early Asian trading on Tuesday, easing after recent gains. Brent crude for July delivery dropped $3.01 (2.7%) to $109.09 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery fell $1.38 (1.3%) to $107.28 per barrel as of 0001 GMT.
Both benchmarks had previously reached their highest levels since early May and late April, respectively, in the prior session.
