PSX: Buying returns, KSE-100 gains over 1,400 points
- Benchmark index settles at 169,392.32
Buying returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,400 points on Tuesday.
The market opened with strong buying interest, hitting an intraday high of 169,988.11, before witnessing a sharp correction in the early session, dropping to an intraday low of 169,189.29.
The index then recovered gradually, moving between gains and losses in a relatively volatile morning session.
Buying momentum strengthened around midday. However, the index failed to sustain these levels and entered a gradual downward trajectory during the afternoon.
Selling pressure intensified near the final hours of trading, but recovered modestly before the closing minutes.
At close, the KSE-100 settled at 169,392.32, up by 1,421.67 points or 0.85%.
“The rebound followed yesterday’s 2,541-point decline, as geopolitical tensions and crude oil prices above $100/bbl continued to weigh on investor sentiment,” Topline Securities said in its post-market commentary.
“Meanwhile, the unchanged policy rate, along with Pakistan’s recent $3 billion Eurobond issuance and improvement in foreign exchange reserves to around $21.4 billion, provided a supportive backdrop,” it added.
On the positive side, UBL, FFC, LUCK, BAFL, and PSEL were among the key contributors, collectively adding approximately 640 points to the KSE-100 Index.
Conversely, MEBL, JVDC, and SAZEW remained the major drags, collectively weighing down the index by approximately 179 points, said Topline.
With the arrival of Eurobond inflows, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves surged to an all-time high level of $21.4 billion.
In the first week of September, Pakistan raised some $3 billion through a landmark dual-tranche Eurobond issuance, marking its largest-ever global bond transaction in a single offering.
On Monday, PSX witnessed a sharp sell-off as escalating US-Iran conflict, attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and international oil prices remaining above US$100 per barrel weighed heavily on investor sentiment, raising concerns over fuel inflation, the import bill and the monetary policy outlook.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 167,970.66 points, losing 2,541.20 points during the session.
Globally, Asian shares struggled on Tuesday as investors weighed Middle East tensions and calls by industry figures for a slowdown in AI development, while elevated oil prices and higher bond yields added to caution before key central bank meetings in the US and Japan.
Yemen’s Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday, after Riyadh blamed Iran-backed fighters in Iraq for an attack on the kingdom’s east-west pipeline that it said could disrupt as much as 4% of global oil supply.
Gulf Arab states also postponed planned talks with Iran.
Calls by leading AI figures to slow development continued to reverberate through markets even as U.S. President Donald Trump played down concerns over misuse of the technology, saying existing U.S. safeguards were adequate and that China would benefit from doubts over AI development.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.12%, led by South Korea’s 0.25% dip. Japan’s Nikkei edged 0.19% higher after reversing early losses. Chip-related shares were mixed, with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics losing 0.2% while Japan’s Kioxia gained 3.3%.
The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting later in the day, with markets pricing in a 90% chance of a rate hike that would mark the Fed’s first increase since mid-2023.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday. The local unit closed the day at 277.30, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 372.01 million from 570.47 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs17.21 billion from Rs24.67 billion in the previous session.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 56.23 million shares, followed by Media Times Ltd with 39.88 million shares, and Pak Refunery with 22.51 million shares.
Shares of 494 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 280 registered an increase, 166 recorded a fall, and 48 remained unchanged.