PSX: buying returns at bourse, KSE-100 up over 900 points

Buying returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 900 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.

At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,068.84, up 944.43 points or 0.57%.

Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including LUCK, DGKC, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, OGDC, MARI and PSO, traded in the green.

On Monday, the PSX witnessed heavy selling as domestic political uncertainty following the imposition of emergency and governor rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, coupled with regional geopolitical tensions involving Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, the United States and Iran, prompted investors to reduce their equity exposure. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by 1,964.87 points, or 1.18%, to close at 165,124.41 points.

Internationally, Asian equities fell sharply on Tuesday led ​by technology shares as a widening conflict in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, supporting the dollar ‌ahead of an earnings season that will set the tone for the rest of the year.

Energy prices are back driving global markets as investors weigh the geopolitical developments in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine, with Brent crude futures at $105.9 per barrel, near a two-week high.

In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell ​2% in early trading, with tech-heavy South Korea’s KOSPI sliding 6%. Japan’s Nikkei sank 2.6% after returning from a holiday.

Overnight, the tech-heavy ​Nasdaq fell 0.5%, dragged by chipmakers as investors fret about the durability of the rally in AI stocks amid higher competition ​between the US and China.

The cautious sentiment helped keep the US dollar near an 18-month high. The euro last bought $1.1157, while the Japanese yen was at 158.50 per US dollar.

Investors’ attention will be on the slew of US bank earnings this week to get a gauge on the impact of the recent surge in Treasury yields on dealmaking, lending growth and funding costs ​across the industry.

A toxic mix of ​inflationary pressure from elevated energy ⁠prices and worries about ballooning government debt have triggered several bouts of bond selloffs in recent weeks, pushing borrowing costs to multi-decade highs across the globe.

Four of the six largest US lenders, JPMorgan ​Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will report results later in the day.

This is an intraday update