The Pakistan Stock Exchange started the business week with strong momentum, as the benchmark KSE 100 Index crossed the historic level of 181,000 points for the first time in the country’s history during early trading.
According to reports, at 10:20 am, the KSE 100 Index rose by 2,083.07 points, or 1.16 percent, to reach 181,118.00 points. Strong buying was seen in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and the power generation sector. Shares of Hubco, Mari, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, HBL, MCB, Meezan Bank, and UBL were all trading in positive territory.
Sources said that the rally in the equity market continued last week as well, with the benchmark KSE 100 Index closing at a new all time high. According to the weekly report, the KSE 100 Index gained 6,634 points, or 3.8 percent, and closed at 179,035 points.
On the global front, Asian stock markets moved higher on Monday, while oil prices remained volatile. MSCI’s broad Asia Pacific index excluding Japan rose by 1.2 percent, while S&P 500 E mini futures gained 0.1 percent.
In regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 2.8 percent and moved close to its record high set two months ago. Data for December showed that manufacturing activity in Japan stabilized, ending a five month period of decline, which supported Japanese stocks.
South Korea’s Kospi Index and Taiwan’s stock market both rose by more than 2 percent, reaching new record highs.
In contrast, Chinese markets showed a cautious trend. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.1 percent, but shares of Chinese oil companies fell, putting pressure on the energy sector. The energy index of Hong Kong listed stocks dropped 3.1 percent. Australian shares also recorded a modest gain of 0.1 percent.
