Buying was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) following the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decision to raise the policy rate by 50bps, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 950 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.
At 10:05am, the benchmark index was hovering at 163,997.54, up 959.08 points or 0.59%.
Buying was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs.
On Monday, PSX recovered amid choppy trading ahead of the SBP Monetary Policy Committee announcement, with investors cautiously positioning for an anticipated increase in the policy rate. The benchmark KSE-100 Index advanced by 663.59 points, or 0.41%, to close at 163,038.47 points
Internationally, Asian stocks surged on Tuesday as AI bellwether Anthropic’s eagerly anticipated IPO filing lifted risk appetite ahead of tech earnings that will be a test for the AI trade, and central bank meetings that will influence near-term interest rates.
Claude-owner Anthropic disclosed steep losses and red-hot revenue growth in its filing for a US initial public offering, as investors increasingly dissect the potential payoff from massive AI spending and its profitability.
Also boosting sentiment was Meta Platforms’ plans to raise up to $95 billion in its largest-ever equity fundraising.
The currency markets are muted ahead of policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, with economists expecting all three to stand pat on interest rates, leaving the focus on comments from policymakers to gauge the rates outlook.
In stocks, tech-heavy South Korea’s KOSPI gained more than 4% in early trading while Japan’s Nikkei was 1.9% higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2%.
Nasdaq futures were up 0.4% after US chip stocks rose 2.8% in overnight trade, clocking its biggest one-day jump in a month. European stock futures dipped 0.23%.