KARACHI(National Times)- The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week in the green on Monday, gaining more than 2,100 points to close above the 178,000 mark.
The development came as global oil prices tumbled on Monday, after United States President Donald Trump said fresh talks with Iran would begin later in the day.
At 11am, the benchmark KSE-100 index had gained 2273.78 points, from the previous close of 176,094.11 points. By 2:18pm, the index’s gains had dropped to 1781.72 points.
However, after an intraday low of 177,759.88 points, it staged a recovery after 2pm to close at 178,200.02 points — up by 2,105.91 (1.20 per cent) from the previous close.
Topline Securities Ltd. said that the rally reflected “renewed risk appetite as investors welcomed signs of easing regional tensions and softer energy prices”.
On the index contribution front, FFC, MEBL, LUCK, PPL, and ENGROH emerged as the top contributors, collectively adding approximately 699 points to the benchmark index, according to the firm.
Market activity also strengthened: the total traded volume rose to 785 million shares, while traded value stood at Rs33bn, it added.
Mettis Global, a web-based financial portal, said the positive momentum at PSX came as “investors took cues from easing geopolitical tensions after Trump called off a planned strike on Iran, reducing immediate concerns over a wider regional conflict”.
Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, said investor optimism extended the positive momentum from the previous week, driven by expectations of a swift agreement between the US and Iran.
“Sentiment improved after the US president announced that talks with Iran would resume on Monday, without setting a deadline for reaching an agreement following the cessation of hostilities,” he said.
Ashraf added that “the return of inflation to single digits in July, with the data due to be released today, would provide an additional catalyst for the market by strengthening expectations of monetary easing and further boosting investor confidence”.
The KSE-100 index ended the first month of the current fiscal year lower. According to Topline Securities Ltd, the index closed July down 4,208 points or 2.3 per cent month-on-month as escalating US-Iran tensions pushed global crude oil prices higher, weighing on investor sentiment.
Average daily traded volume during the month stood at 845 million shares, while average daily traded value was Rs37.5bn.
