Buying sentiment was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 200 points during the opening hours of trading on Tuesday.
At 10:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,126.56, up 160.48 points or 0.10%.
Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green.
In a key development, Pakistan posted a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.65% during FY2026, estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday showed. The growth was lower than the 3.70% estimated by the National Accounts Committee (NAC).
On Monday, PSX closed lower as selling pressure intensified during the second half of the session, erasing an early recovery and pushing the index below the 166,000-point level. The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 453.63 points, or 0.27%, to close at 165,966.09 points.
Globally, Asian stocks retreated broadly on Tuesday while oil rose as geopolitical risks rattled sentiment ahead of key results from AI bellwether companies.
The dollar held firm against the euro as riots in France fuelled demand for safe-haven assets. Crude prices resumed their climb as markets weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy.
The spotlight now turns to corporate earnings, with investors seeking fresh evidence that consumers and the broader economy remain resilient. Results are due from Meta on Wednesday and later in the week from Tesla and chipmakers Lam Research and Texas Instruments.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 0.93%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.28%. South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 3.61%.
Meta is one of five AI hyperscalers expected to increase combined capital expenditure to about $1.2 trillion next year, according to Goldman Sachs. Results from SpaceX are also due on Tuesday.
This is an intraday update