Positive momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 650 points during the intra-day trading on Tuesday.
At 11:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 122,870.73, an increase of 645.38 points or 0.53%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, ARL, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, POL, PPL,
In line with market expectations, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%.
The MPC noted that the increase in inflation in May to 3.5% year-on-year (y/y) was in line with its expectation, whereas core inflation declined marginally.
The PSX concluded Monday’s trading session with a mixed performance across its indices, reflecting a nuanced market sentiment.
While the benchmark KSE-100 Index managed a modest gain, broader market activity indicated a tug-of-war between bullish and bearish forces. The KSE-100 Index registered a fractional gain of 81.79 points, or 0.07%, to close at 122,225.36 points.
Internationally, US stock futures slipped and oil prices rose on Tuesday, as investors were rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for everyone to evacuate Tehran with the fifth-day of Israel-Iran fighting sowing fears of a broader regional conflict.
Markets were on edge after a separate report said that Trump had asked for the national security council to be prepared in the situation room as he cut short his visit to the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
The latest developments sparked a wave of risk-off moves in early Asian trading. S&P 500 futures fell 0.46%, European futures slumped 0.69%, while crude prices, briefly jumped more than 2%.
Wall Street had closed higher on Monday after sources told Reuters that Iran was seeking a Trump-mediated immediate ceasefire with Israel, which also cooled a rally in crude prices.
The Iran-Israel air war – the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies – escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran’s state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities.
The heightened uncertainty and fluid Middle East situation bolstered investor moves towards traditional safe-haven assets such as gold which rose 0.5%, while a rise in U.S. Treasuries pushed yields lower across the curve.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was down about 2 basis points at 4.43%.
The dollar firmed against the euro, yen and sterling as it reprised its role as a safe asset even as it held to broadly tighter ranges.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a tad higher, while futures tracking Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were also marginally higher.
This is an intra-day update
