Bullish momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid anticipation of a policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The benchmark KSE-100 Index traded near the 140,000 level during the opening minutes of trading on Monday.
At 9:35am, the benchmark index was at 139,988.07, an increase of 780.79 points or 0.56%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery traded in the green. Index-heavy stocks, including PRL, ARL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SSGC and SNGPL, traded in the green.
During the previous week, the market remained range-bound yet closed the week on a positive note, as investors weighed macroeconomic signals, anticipated monetary easing, and corporate earnings. The KSE-100 Index added 610 points, or 0.44% week-on-week (WoW), to settle at 139,207 points.
Internationally, global stocks rose and the euro firmed on Monday after a trade agreement between the United States and the EU lifted sentiment and provided some clarity in a week of key policy meetings by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods, half the threatened rate, a week after agreeing to a trade deal with Japan that lowered proposed tariffs on auto imports.
Countries are scrambling to finalise trade deals ahead of an August 1 deadline set by US President Donald Trump, with talks between the US and China set for Monday in Stockholm amid expectations of another 90-day extension to the truce between the world’s top two economies.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq futures gained 0.5% while the euro firmed across the board, rising against the dollar, sterling and yen. European futures surged nearly 1%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.27%, just shy of the almost four-year high it touched last week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.8% after hitting a one-year high last week.
While the baseline 15% tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe’s initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal, it is better than the threatened 30% rate.
This is an intra-day update
