PSX rises in cautious trade over Middle East tensions

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began on Wednesday on a minor positive note as investors remained cautious due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The cautious tone followed President Donald Trump’s warning that military action against Iran could be necessary, a day after he called off an imminent strike to allow more time for talks with Tehran.

The KSE-100 index rose by 519.67 points to 163,416.35, up 0.32 percent from the previous close of 162,896.68 points.

The PSX statistics further revealed that the stock market went bullish on Tuesday, adding 1,091.66 points, a positive shift of 0.67 percent, finishing at 162,896.68 points against 161,805.02 points on the past trading day.

The ready market during the session transacted 391.935 million shares as compared to the previous session’s tally of 499.795 million shares, with a traded value of Rs 22.975 billion versus Rs 19.438 billion. The market capitalisation went up to Rs 18.081 trillion from Rs 17.990 trillion a day earlier.

In the ready market, 262 of the 480 active businesses moved up, 171 declined and 47 were stable.

Asian stocks dropped for a fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as war-driven inflation worries slammed bonds, while investors awaited earnings from Nvidia to see if the world’s most valuable firm might help markets handle higher borrowing costs.

The sell-off in global bond markets continued overnight with investors increasing wagers that the Federal Reserve may need to hike interest rates this year. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to a 16-month high of 4.687% overnight and the 30-year yield hit 5.198%, levels not seen since 2007.