The Pakistan Stock Exchange extended its gains on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index up 1,030.21 points, or 0.63%, at 164,068.67 by 12:54pm. Investors looked past the State Bank of Pakistan's 50-basis-point rate hike to 12% as hopes of progress towards ending the US-Israeli war on Iran lifted sentiment.
The index opened firmly, rising 875.75 points to 163,914.21 by 9:34am. It touched an intraday high of 164,368.47 and a low of 163,545.69, with 63.83 million shares traded worth Rs4.96 billion. Buying was seen in cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and oil marketing companies.
Global oil prices slipped about 1% as hopes of a resolution to the Iran conflict eased supply fears. Brent crude fell 0.86% to $114.81 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate to $100.88. Still, fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia kept geopolitical risk in focus.