A strong wave of buying lifted the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging almost 1,400 points during the early trading session.
At 10:25 AM, the benchmark index stood at 163,000.71 points, up by 1,368.98 points (0.85%).
Investor interest remained particularly strong in the automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banking, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation, and refinery sectors. Shares of HUBCO, ARL, Mari, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, and NBP all traded in the positive zone.
Last week, the stock market closed cautiously after facing uncertain volatility driven by geopolitical concerns, profit-taking strategies, and the announcement of corporate earnings. The benchmark KSE-100 Index recorded a weekly decline of 1.03%, closing at 161,631.73 points.
Internationally, Asian stock markets opened higher on Monday as the temporary truce in the US–China trade conflict and rising spending on artificial intelligence boosted investor confidence. Meanwhile, the US dollar remained near a three-month high following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
Investors continue to focus on developments from the previous week, including central bank meetings and the expected one-year trade truce agreement between the US and China. However, doubts persist about whether the truce will remain intact for the full duration.
MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index (excluding Japan) rose 0.35% to 727.82 points—near its highest level in four and a half years. The index has already gained more than 27% this year, moving towards its best performance since 2017.
Chinese blue-chip stocks dipped slightly by 0.6% after October data showed a slowdown in factory activity, with declines in both new orders and production, largely due to tariff-related concerns. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up by 0.3%.
Japan’s markets remained closed for a holiday, resulting in limited trading activity during the Asian session due to the absence of cash treasury trading.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq futures were up 0.25%, and European futures also indicated a positive opening.
