Business Recorder
Massive buying was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on optimism that the US and Iran were moving closer towards a peace deal, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 3,600 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:34am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,456.12, up by 3,611.88 points or 2.15%. Across-the-board buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HBL, MCB, MEBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL and HUBCO, traded in the green. It was also learnt that two liquefied natural gas tankers are exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, heading to Pakistan and China , while a supertanker with Iraqi crude for China left the Gulf on Saturday after being stranded for nearly three months, shipping data showed. During the previous week, Pakistan’s stock market posted modest gains during the outgoing week, as improving investor sentiment amid growing prospects of negotiations to ease regional geopolitical tensions supported equities despite persistent macroeconomic pressures. The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 167,844.25 points, registering an increase of 2,248.19 points on a week-on-week basis. Internationally, stocks surged on Monday while the US dollar and oil prices slid as the prospect of a deal to end the Iran war buoyed risk appetite, although a lack of clarity over when the Strait of Hormuz would open kept enthusiasm in check. The nearly three-month-long conflict in the Middle East has driven energy prices sharply higher and reshaped the global rates outlook, as inflation concerns intensify following Tehran’s effective shutdown of the key strait through which a significant share of the world’s energy flows. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, as his administration played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough. Just a day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a deal that would reopen the waterway, which carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war. Nasdaq futures were 1.2% higher and S&P futures were up 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 3% to roar past the 65,000 level for the first time. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1%. This is an intraday update
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