- Caretaker govt team’s meeting with IMF on circular debt management plan fuels buying interest in index-heavy shares
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw interest in the oil and gas sector as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained over 850 points during trading on Tuesday.
At 2pm, the benchmark index was hovering at the 63,855.95 level, an increase of 853.04 points or 1.35%.
Index-heavy stocks including OGDC and PPL were trading in the positive, amid reported developments on the government’s circular debt plan.
Business Recorder reported that the caretaker government’s team on Monday formally interacted with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a video call to seek the latter’s support for tariff rationalization and circular debt reduction plans.
During the previous week, the PSX remained under selling pressure with low trading activity as investors remained cautious and avoided taking fresh positions on their concerns over political noise in the country.
The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 810.14 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 63,002.92 points.
Experts said Tuesday’s buying interest comes on account of developments in the energy sector.
Globally, Asian shares edged up on Tuesday thanks to a bounce in battered Chinese markets, although investors were cautious after a slide on Wall Street amid diminishing expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut, which in turn underpinned the dollar.
Oil prices held largely steady as traders took stock of a visit to the Middle East by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a ceasefire offer in the region.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, after a 0.7% decline from the previous session.
