Equities recover 404 points despite volatility

Dawn reported that the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed Tuesday's session in positive territory despite lingering uncertainty tied to Field Marshal Asim Munir's visit to Iran. Optimism about easing friction between Washington and Tehran followed the trip, and Topline Securities said the KSE-100 settled at 177,370.71, a rise of 404.02 points, or 0.23 per cent. Trading was volatile, but the benchmark bounced back from an early slide as selective purchases spread through key sectors.

Buyers were measured, concentrating on selected blue-chip and cyclical stocks, and the 178,000 level continued to cap gains. Topline noted that the near-term outlook is range-bound. United Bank, Meezan Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Habib Bank and Lucky Cement together added about 667 points, while Oil and Gas Development Company, Engro Holdings and Systems Ltd dragged it down by roughly 201 points. Trading activity weakened sharply, with volume falling 30.92 per cent to 644.8 million shares and value declining 28.87 per cent to Rs31.4 billion.

Separately, international oil prices dropped 3 per cent. The market is shut on Wednesday for Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH), and Dawn noted that news released during the holiday could shape sentiment through the remainder of the week.