A wave of euphoria swept the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the bourse opened for trading on Tuesday with bulls on the rampage amid rampant buying amid emerging hopes of possible de-escalation in Middle East, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Reports of a potential diplomatic breakthrough with mediating nations, including Pakistan and Turkey, working to convene high-level talks in Islamabad as early as this week to ease tensions in the Middle East.
At 9:30 am, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 Index was hovering at 157,441, up by 4,702 points or 2.96%. But, investors quickly opted for profit-taking which reduced the gains to half by 10:35 am when the index was trading at 154,796.23 points, up by 2,055.86 or 1.33%.
However, at the end of the day, the index registered an increase of 1,225.99 points to 153,966.36 points, or 0.80 percent.
Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including DGKC, HBL, MCB, FFC, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL and PSO traded in the green.
During the previous week, the PSX had remained under sustained pressure as it extended its losing streak to eight consecutive weeks, reflecting persistent investor caution amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a mixed domestic macroeconomic backdrop.
The index declined by 1,126 points on a week-on-week basis, or 0.73%, to close at 152,740 points.
Reporter Kavish Memon