Mohsin Siddiqui (Chief Reporter)

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish momentum as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged by over 550 points in Monday’s trading session. The benchmark reached an intra-day high of 65,069.43 before settling at 64,781.11 mid-day. Despite a slight retreat, the KSE-100 remained up over 0.4%, marking a gain of 266 points.

Sector-Wise Trends: Mixed Performance at the Bourse

The trading session showcased a mixed trend at the bourse, with index-heavy sectors such as automobile assemblers, chemical, commercial banks, and refineries experiencing gains. In contrast, sectors like oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs traded in the red.

Previous Week’s Bullish Trend and Global Market Overview

The preceding week witnessed a bullish trend at the PSX, with substantial gains driven by aggressive buying, particularly from local investors. The KSE-100 index surged by 2,063.86 points on a week-on-week basis, surpassing the 64,000 level and closing at 64,514.90 points.

Global markets displayed caution on Monday as investors awaited U.S. and Chinese inflation data. Additionally, the corporate reporting season stirred anticipation for robust results to justify high stock valuations. Geopolitical tensions, including disruptions in the Red Sea impacting oil prices and shipping costs in Europe, and the Israeli conflict with Hamas threatening to spread to Lebanon, added to market considerations.

Positive Developments from Washington

In Washington, U.S. congressional leaders reached an agreement on a $1.6 trillion spending deal, aiming to avert a partial government shutdown. The early market action was cautious, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan remaining flat after a 2.5% retreat the previous week.