The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its upward momentum, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 500 points during the opening hours of trading on Tuesday.
At 10:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 150,532.82, an increase of 561.70 points or 0.37%.
Buying interest was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and exploration companies, OMCs, pharmaceuticals, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, ARL, NRL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, HBL, MEBL, NBP and UBL traded in the green.
On Monday, the PSX began the new month with a powerful rally, driven by strong investor sentiment, robust buying interest in key sectors and an inflation reading that came in well below expectations.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 1,353 points, or 0.91%, to close at 149,971.12 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks edged higher while the US dollar lurked near five-week lows and gold climbed to a record high on Tuesday, as investors girded for a slate of economic data this week, including the crucial US labour report on Friday.
Markets widely expect the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month, pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point cut, but data this week will help investors gauge whether the central bank could perhaps lean toward a jumbo cut.
The focus will be on Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls report, which will be preceded by data on job openings and private payrolls, providing investors and the Fed a clearer picture of the labour market that has become the centre of policy debate.
The US inflation report for August is scheduled to be released on September 11, a week before the Fed’s policy meeting.
The prospect of lower borrowing costs has kept Wall Street near record highs, while stocks in other regions have also gained in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2% higher.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.39% after dropping more than 1% on Monday. Nasdaq futures rose 0.07% while European futures inched higher.
China stocks have been on a tear, buoyed by AI enthusiasm.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.26% on Tuesday to hit a three-year high for the third straight session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index eased 0.19% in early trading after surging 2% on Monday.
This is an intra-day update
