ISLAMABAD: Despite strong early gains, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Tuesday’s session on a flat note, as investors opted for profit-taking after the KSE-100 index reached a record intra-day high of 147,976.98.
At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 settled at 147,005.32, following a modest gain of 75.48 points, or 0.05%.
Analysts attributed investors’ optimism to encouraging corporate earnings and reports of forthcoming US investments in Pakistan’s energy sector.
In an informal discussion following his return from the United States, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that Pakistan would soon receive positive news regarding substantial investments across multiple sectors from the US.
The minister described the trade talks with the US as a significant success for the country, adding that Pakistan is heading in the right direction and that results would become evident in due course.
On Tuesday, a total of 691,658,929 shares were traded as compared to 611,205,197 shares on the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 44.549 billion against PKR 44.004 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 482 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 208 of them recorded gains and 241 met losses, whereas the share price of 32 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were Yousuf Weaving with 46,269,963 shares at PKR 6.09 per share, followed by Kohinoor Spinning with 39,944,966 shares at PKR 6.47 per share, whereas Invest Bank settled with 34,389,034 shares at PKR 9.68 per share.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum increase of PKR 156.85 per share price, closing at PKR 29,000.00, whereas the runner-up was Khyber Textile Mills Limited with a PKR 69.71 rise in its per share price to PKR 1,477.00.
Nestle Pakistan Limited witnessed a maximum decline of PKR 88.57 per share, closing at PKR 8,762.79, followed by Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited with a drop of PKR 79.40 in its share price to close at Rs32,020.61.
On Monday, bullish sentiment dominated the PSX, with the KSE-100 Index surging by 1,547.05 points, or 1.06%, to close at 146,929.84.
Global trend
Globally, most Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday, buoyed by the extension of a tariff truce between the world’s two largest economies.
Japanese shares, in particular, reached an all-time high, fuelled by gains in the tech sector after reopening following a long weekend.
US President Donald Trump extended the tariff truce with China by a further 90 days on Monday, temporarily averting triple-digit duties on Chinese goods — a move that had been widely anticipated by investors.
Investor sentiment in recent weeks has been supported by expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, resilient American corporate earnings, and increased clarity regarding US trade tariffs on its global partners.
Japan’s Nikkei index rose to a record high and was last up by 2%, as markets reopened after a public holiday on Monday, following global trends seen earlier this year.
Australia’s benchmark index also reached a record level, ahead of a monetary policy meeting in which the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates.
Meanwhile, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged slightly higher. China’s blue-chip stocks remained flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped by 0.1% in early trading.
