Buying returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) after US President Donald Trump said US military action against Iran is not necessary “at this point”, with the benchmark KSE-100 gaining nearly 3,300 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.
At 9:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 177,168.09, up 3,281.41 points or 1.89%.
Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HUBCO, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the green.
The PSX recorded its strongest weekly rally in nearly six months, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging 7,477.44 points, or 4.5% week-on-week, to close at 173,886.69 points.
Globally, Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as a drop in oil prices after US President Donald Trump said he plans to hold off on new military strikes against Iran lifted sentiment ahead of US inflation data that could sway the near-term interest rate outlook.
Brent crude futures were hovering at their lowest levels since early September, well below $100 per barrel, as investors pinned their hopes on possible talks between US and Iran.
They were last down 1% at $91.56 a barrel.
The US-Israeli war with Iran, which erupted at the end of February, has stoked inflationary concerns across the globe, spurring major central banks to raise rates in recent months.
Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global, said the latest developments offered hope that an end to the conflict could be approaching, but there was still a considerable gap between diplomacy and a lasting peace agreement.
The slump in oil prices eased inflation worries and helped lift stocks after last week’s rout as a sweeping victory by Democrats in the US midterm elections fed concerns that new regulations could dent the durability of the AI trade.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose over 5%, while Japan’s Nikkei gained about 3% in early trading. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares pushed 1.5% higher, moving away from the seven-month low it hit last week.
On Monday, the S&P 500 clocked its biggest one-day jump since April, closing up 2.35% while the Nasdaq closed 2.7% higher, its best day in over four months.
Earnings reports due this week from tech companies including CoreWeave, a barometer of investor anxiety over AI, will be another test for markets as investors fret about the cost of the AI buildout.
This is an intraday update
Source: brecorder
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