Trading activity at Pakistan Stock Exchange reaches 18-year high

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a remarkable surge in trading activity on Tuesday, with the traded value in the ready market soaring to PKR 57 billion ($203 million) — the highest in 18 years.

The stock market closed on a positive note, hitting all-time highs both intraday and at closing. This robust performance was primarily driven by falling yields on fixed-income securities and macroeconomic stability.

Investor sentiment received a significant boost as inflation dropped to 4.9% in November, raising expectations of a notable rate cut in the upcoming central bank meeting. The major contributors to this bullish session included the fertilizer, oil & gas exploration, and cement sectors.

KSE-100 index gained 1,274.55 points or 1.24% to close at 104,559.07 points.

On Tuesday, the Indian stock market saw a lot of buying activity across different segments. Both mid-sized and small-sized companies showed good gains.

Several stocks, like HDFC Bank, Persistent Systems, and Info Edge (Naukri), reached their highest prices in a year during the day on the BSE.

Other stocks, such as Dixon Technologies, Oberoi Realty, PB Fintech (Policybazaar), Caplin Point Laboratories, eClerx Services, Affle (India), Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals, and Kaynes Technology India also hit their one-year highs.

BSE-100 index gained 206.02 points or 0.8% to close at 25,900.60 points.

Commodities

Oil prices went up by almost 1% on Tuesday. Traders are waiting for the OPEC+ meeting happening later this week. It is expected that OPEC+ will continue its recent oil production cuts until the end of March next year.

Brent crude prices increased 0.93% to $72.5 per barrel.

Gold prices went up slightly on Tuesday. This happened because people are starting to think the US will cut interest rates in December.

This expectation made the dollar and Treasury yields weaker. Everyone is now waiting for upcoming economic data to see what the Federal Reserve might do next.

International gold prices surged 0.32% reaching $2,643.21 per ounce. In Pakistan, gold prices increased by PKR 700 to PKR 275,200 per tola.

Currency

The PKR strengthened against the US dollar in the interbank market, up 0.04%. Pakistani currency settled at 277.86 with a gain of 11 paisas. In the open market, USD was trading at PKR 280.