Equities at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued to set new records, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 137,000 level amid a gain of nearly 1,200 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.
At 9:35am, the benchmark index was at 137,684.28, an increase of 1,181.75 points or 0.87%.
Across the board buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, PPL, POL, PSO, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL traded in the green.
On Monday, the PSX witnessed a resounding rally on the first day of the week, hitting a new historic high, propelled by strong institutional participation and growing investor confidence.
The benchmark KSE100 index finished by a remarkable 2,203 points, or 1.64%, to finish at a record 136,502.54 points.
Globally, Asian shares climbed and the dollar held gains on Tuesday as trade talks remained in the spotlight in a week that will see key readings on US inflation and bank earnings.
Oil prices edged lower after US President Donald Trump issued a 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine to avoid energy sanctions. Japanese government bond yields jumped to ma ulti-decade high as a critical upper house election neared.
Trump signalled he was open to discussions on tariffs after his weekend threat to impose 30% duties on the European Union and Mexico from August 1. Japan is reportedly trying to schedule high-level talks with the US this Friday.
Market reaction to the tariff uncertainty has been rather benign, making earnings in the United States this week all the more important for cues, said National Australia Bank strategist Rodrigo Catril.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4%, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with meagre gains. Japan’s Nikkei gauge added 0.2%.
The EU accused the US of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached. Trump said he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is arranging to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, ahead of an August 1 deadline before 25% tariffs are due to take effect.
This is an intra-day update
