The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed trading on Monday, as its benchmark KSE-100 closed marginally higher after briefly crossing 140,000 mark.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 140,149.23, followed by selling that led to the index to an intra-day low of 139,195.85.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 139,380.06, marginally up by 172.77 points or 0.12%.
“The banking sector faced pressure amid expectations of a policy rate cut, while the cement sector saw positive momentum following the approval of the Housing Finance Subsidy Scheme by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC),” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
Top contributors to the index included LUCK, SYS, PSO, FATIMA, and SAZEW, collectively adding 379 points. On the other hand, UBL, MEBL, and BAFL were the major laggards, collectively dragging the index down by 261 points, Topline said.
During the previous week, the market remained range-bound yet closed the week on a positive note, as investors weighed macroeconomic signals, anticipated monetary easing, and corporate earnings. The KSE-100 Index added 610 points, or 0.44% week-on-week (WoW), to settle at 139,207 points.
Internationally, global stocks rose and the euro firmed on Monday after a trade agreement between the United States and the EU lifted sentiment and provided some clarity in a week of key policy meetings by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods, half the threatened rate, a week after agreeing to a trade deal with Japan that lowered proposed tariffs on auto imports.
Countries are scrambling to finalise trade deals ahead of an August 1 deadline set by US President Donald Trump, with talks between the US and China set for Monday in Stockholm amid expectations of another 90-day extension to the truce between the world’s top two economies.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq futures gained 0.5% while the euro firmed across the board, rising against the dollar, sterling and yen. European futures surged nearly 1%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.27%, just shy of the almost four-year high it touched last week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.8% after hitting a one-year high last week.
While the baseline 15% tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe’s initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal, it is better than the threatened 30% rate.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during trading in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the currency settled at 283.21, a gain of Re0.24.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 589.31 million from 634.81 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares increased to Rs34.56 billion from Rs24.61 billion in the previous session.
Aisha Steel Mill was the volume leader with 51.82 million shares, followed by Agha Steel Ind. with 46.62 million shares, and B.O.Punjab with 23.77 million shares.
Shares of 483 companies were traded on Monday, of which 251 registered an increase, 205 recorded a fall, while 27 remained unchanged.
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