KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its northward journey on Tuesday as investors continued cherrypicking amid easing geopolitical tensions and a sharp decline in oil prices, propelling the benchmark KSE 100 index above the 179,000 level.
Brent North Sea crude, the main international benchmark, dropped below $90 a barrel for the first time since August on growing hopes of an end to the US-Iran war. Brent slid 3.1pc to $89.66 a barrel, extending sharp declines in recent trading sessions. The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, shed 2.3pc to $84.86.US President Donald Trump said on Monday that there was momentum towards ending the war with Iran, as he declared that the country ‘militarily, is effectively over’, but kept open the possibility of new strikes.
Topline Securities Ltd said the PSX witnessed astrong bullish session as the index extended its recovery following the long weekend. The index surged by 5,448.55 points, or 3.13pc, to close at 179,335.24, supported by broad-based buying across key sectors.
Investor sentiment remained upbeat amideasing international oil prices and diminishing concerns over a potential escalation in geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.
The decline in global crude oil prices further bolstered market confidence.
United Bank, FaujiFertiliser, Hub Power, Lucky Cement and Meezan Bank emerged as the leading positive contributors, collectively adding about 1,982 points to the benchmark.
However, investor participation weakened sharply, with trading volume plunging 34.29pc to972.4 million shares, but traded value surged 124.45pc to Rs50.7 billion from Rs22.57bn in the weekend session.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the market opened on a strong note following the long weekend, surging 2,852 points to 176,739 by 9:34am, and maintained its upward momentum throughout the session. Broad-based buying supported sentiment amid easing geopolitical tensions. The index touched an intraday high of 179,424 and a low of 176,274, reflecting a wide trading range of 3,150 points, before closing firmly above the 179,000 level.
On the macroeconomic front, overseas remittances increased 14pc year-on-year to $3.9bn in October.
Analysts expect the market to consolidate between 176,000 and 180,000 amid cautious sentiment ahead of the MSCI review on Wednesday. Trump peace versus strike headlines are likely to dictate near-term direction.