PSX: Buying returns, KSE-100 up 1,400 points

Business Recorder reported that buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday, lifting the KSE-100 by more than 1,400 points during the session. At 3:15pm the index traded near 169,400.95, a gain of 1,430.30 points or 0.85%, after recovering from Monday's steep decline. Purchases were spread across automobile assemblers, cement, banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power and refinery stocks.

The same report noted that State Bank foreign exchange reserves climbed to an all-time high of $21.4 billion as Eurobond inflows arrived. That increase followed a dual-tranche Eurobond issue in the first week of September that raised some $3 billion, which was described as the largest single bond sale of its kind for Pakistan. Monday's sharp sell-off came as the US-Iran conflict escalated, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz came under attack and oil prices held above US$100 a barrel, pulling the index down 2,541.20 points to close at 167,970.66.

Asian shares were weak on Tuesday as investors weighed Middle East tensions, industry calls for a slower pace of AI development and elevated oil prices. Traders were also waiting on the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where a rate increase was seen as 90% likely and would be the first since mid-2023.