The record-breaking buying spree at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) finally concluded, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index registered a decline of over 1,000 points amid profit-taking on Tuesday.
The KSE-100 witnessed a volatile trading session, hitting an intra-day high of 111,759.58, a gain of over 1,700 points during the opening hours of trading.
However, by 2:40pm, the index had hit an intra-day low of 107,711.40 as investors looked to book their gains after days of intense buying.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 108,896.65, a decrease of 1,073.73 points or 0.98%.
Early-morning interest was observed in key sectors including power generation, refinery, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, fertilizer, automobile assemblers and cement.
The rally was underpinned by improving macroeconomic indicators, notably high inflows of remittances, according to market experts.
The inflow of overseas workers’ remittances into Pakistan stood at $2.92 billion in November 2024, 4.5% lower when compared to $3.05 billion in October 2024, showed data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Investor interest has also recently been driven by optimism of further cuts in interest rates after a significant decrease in the inflation rate, which declined to 4.9% in November.
On Monday, PSX continued its bullish trend and hit new highest-ever levels settling at 109,970.38, an increase of 916.43 points or 0.84%.
However, experts say some level of profit-taking was expected as the index had hit record highs in recent days.
Globally, China and Hong Kong stocks surged at open on Tuesday after top policymakers vowed to ramp up policy stimulus to spur growth.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rallied 3.2% at open, while the Shanghai Composite index added 2.6%. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng jumped 3.2% at open, adding to Monday’s 2.8% gain.
The tech index surged 4.2%.
Next year, China will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy, the first easing of its stance in some 14 years, alongside a more proactive fiscal policy to spur economic growth, state media Xinhua reported after-market on Monday, citing a readout of a meeting of top Communist Party officials, the Politburo.
This is an intra-day update
Source: Brecorder
