Pakistan stock market records second-highest daily gain
The sharp uptrend was driven by positive global developments, particularly the de-escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran, says analyst
Haris Zamir
Business Editor
Experience of almost 33 years where started the journey of financial journalism from Business Recorder in 1992. From 2006 onwards attached with Television Media worked at Sun Tv, Dawn Tv, Geo Tv and Dunya Tv. During the period also worked as a stringer for Bloomberg for seven years and Dow Jones for five years. Also wrote articles for several highly acclaimed periodicals like the Newsline, Pakistan Gulf Economist and Money Matters (The News publications)
A snapshot of trading activity at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday
PSX Website
The Pakistan Stock Exchange showed a strong recovery on Tuesday, a day after falling more than 4,000 points, on easing geopolitical tensions following the ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Its benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 122,247 points, up 5.23% or 6,079 points — the second-highest single-day gain.
Trading was also halted for an hour around 11:30am after the KSE-100 index surged over 5%.
The sharp uptrend was driven by positive global developments, particularly the de-escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran, which eased geopolitical concerns, said Ali Nawaz, CEO of Chase Securities.
Additionally, a notable decline in international oil prices contributed to improved investor sentiment, especially benefiting oil-importing economies such as Pakistan, he said.
Strong buying was observed across the board, with renewed interest from both local and institutional participants fuelling the momentum, Nawaz said.
A leading dealer said the ceasefire development would help improve "bruised" sentiment. Institutional support also changed sentiment which increased prices in cyclical stocks, mostly cement and steel, he added.
An analyst from Al-Habib Capital noted that the Pakistan Stock Exchange opened on a positive note, driven by easing geopolitical tensions following a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
"Further boosting investor sentiment, the government announced the withdrawal of sales tax and duty exemptions on imported cotton and yarn, aiming to support local cotton farmers and revive the domestic textile sector," he added.
Asia-Pacific markets
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Tuesday after United States President Donald Trump said that the Iran-Israel ceasefire he announced earlier was in effect, following Iranian state-linked media announcing Tehran had fired its “last round” of missiles at Israel.
Key Asian stock markets also regained momentum on truce optimism.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 1.14% to close at 38,790.56, while the broader Topix index rose 0.73% to close at 2,781.35. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.96% to close at 3,103.64, and the small-cap Kosdaq index rose 2.06% to close at 800.93. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.95% higher to 8,555.5.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2.06% to 24,177.07, while mainland China's CSI 300 was 1.2% higher at 3,904.03.
Crude oil prices slumped overnight by almost 7%. With the immediate threat to the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane seemingly over, the global benchmark touched its lowest since June 11 and was last at $69.11 a barrel, U.S. crude futures dropped 3.2% to $66.32 a barrel.
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