By 9:40am, the KSE-100 Index had surged to 188,545.00, up 783.31 points or 0.42 percent, as strong investor interest lifted heavyweight stocks. Automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser companies, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies and refineries all witnessed robust buying.
Major index movers included Attock Refinery Limited, Mari Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, MCB Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank Limited, all trading firmly in the green and pushing the index higher.
The rally is being fuelled by rising expectations of a policy rate cut at the upcoming meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee scheduled for January 26. Recent Treasury bill and Pakistan Investment Bond auctions have reinforced market sentiment that monetary easing is imminent, prompting investors to increase equity exposure.
The bullish momentum follows Monday’s session, when the stock market closed at another all-time high amid broad-based buying, strong corporate earnings and sustained optimism over interest rate cuts. The KSE-100 Index jumped 2,662.86 points, or 1.44 percent, to settle at 187,761.69.
Despite the strong local performance, global markets showed signs of caution. Asian equities slipped on Tuesday as the US dollar weakened and US Treasury yields climbed to a four-month high, with renewed fears of an escalation in trade tensions weighing on investor sentiment worldwide.
