Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed massive buying amid optimism that the US and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal, with the index gaining over 3,800 points during the trading on Monday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
At 10.10 am, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 Index was hovering at 170,687.77, up by 2,843.54 points or 1.67%. However, at the close of business, the index added further 1,000 points to record 3,881.05 points or 2.26 percent to 171,725.29 points.
Across-the-board buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HBL, MCB, MEBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL and HUBCO, traded in the green.
It was also learnt that two liquefied natural gas tankers are exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, heading to Pakistan and China, while a supertanker with Iraqi crude for China left the Gulf on Saturday after being stranded for nearly three months, shipping data showed.
During the last week, Pakistan’s stock market posted modest gains, as improving investor sentiment amid growing prospects of negotiations to ease regional geopolitical tensions supported equities despite persistent macroeconomic pressures.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index had closed at 167,844.25 points, registering an increase of 2,248.19 points on a week-on-week basis.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, as his administration played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough.
Just a day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a deal that would reopen the waterway, which carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.
Reporter Kavish Memon