KSE-100 up 3,281 points as Trump says Iran action not necessary
Pakistan's benchmark index opened Tuesday morning with its sharpest gain in months, climbing 3,281.41 points, or 1.89%, to 177,168.09 by 9:45am, after US President Donald Trump said military action against Iran is not necessary "at this point".
The trigger was oil. Brent crude futures fell 1% to $91.56 a barrel, their lowest since early September and well below $100, as investors bet on possible talks between the US and Iran. The US-Israeli war with Iran, which erupted at the end of February, has stoked inflationary concerns across the globe, spurring major central banks to raise rates in recent months, and any relief on crude prices feeds directly into Pakistan's import bill and inflation outlook.
Buying was broad. Automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, OMCs and power generation all traded in the green, with index-heavy names including MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HUBCO, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL leading the advance.
The move extends a strong run: the KSE-100 closed last week at 173,886.69, up 7,477.44 points or 4.5% week-on-week, its strongest weekly rally in nearly six months. Regional markets joined in, with South Korea's KOSPI up over 5%, Japan's Nikkei about 3% and MSCI's Asia-Pacific index 1.5% higher, while the S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day gain since April on Monday.
ATFX Global chief market strategist Nick Twidale said the developments offered hope an end to the conflict could be near, but warned there was still a considerable gap between diplomacy and a lasting peace agreement. This is an intraday update.
