Investor confidence has been restored following a reduction in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, leading to a strong bullish trend in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) right from the start of trading on Monday.
At 10:50 AM, the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 1,264.63 points (0.77 percent) to reach 165,070.84 points.
Buyer interest was prominent across sectors including Automobile Assemblers, Cement, Commercial Banks, Fertilizer, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), and Power Generation. Stocks with significant weight in the index, such as Hubco, Mari, OGDCL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, HBL, NBP, and UBL, traded in the positive zone.
Last week, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw fluctuations, primarily influenced by political uncertainty, border tensions, and the subsequent restoration of investor confidence following Pakistan’s staff-level agreement with the IMF. According to a weekly report, the KSE-100 Index closed at 163,806.22 points, marking a gain of 708.03 points or 0.4 percent.
Global Markets Also See Upswing
Globally, Asian markets saw a surge on Monday, driven by significant index gains. Expectations for the appointment of a new Prime Minister in Japan increased, while inflation data from the United States this week is anticipated not to pose a major hurdle to the Federal Reserve’s expected future interest rate cuts.
According to data, China’s economy grew at a rate of 1.1 percent in the third quarter, which was better than estimates. Industrial production also recorded a 6.5 percent increase. These results could further strengthen Beijing’s resolve to continue vigorously confronting the prolonged trade war with the US.
However, on an annual basis, China’s 4.8 percent growth rate proved to be the weakest pace in the last year.
Shares in South Korea rose by 1.0 percent, while the MSCI Index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, increased by 1.3 percent.
Chinese blue-chip stocks also recorded a 1.0 percent gain, recovering from a decline seen last week.
