Karachi, Pakistan: The PSX rally extended on Thursday as the KSE-100 Index climbed to an intraday high of 167,924.09, gaining 3,092.67 points, or 1.88%.
The benchmark later retreated to 166,638.56, still up 1,807.14 points, or 1.10%, from the previous close of 164,831.42. Ahfaz Mustafa, chief executive officer of Ismail Iqbal Securities, said diplomatic moves to end the Middle East war had pushed oil about 6% lower.
The move signalled a potential end to hostilities, the reopening of the strait, and eventual normalisation, bolstering investor sentiment.
Asian markets also gained after Iran said it was examining a new US proposal to end the war. Japan’s Nikkei rose more than 3.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.8%.
Taipei climbed 3.6%, Sydney gained 1.6%, and Singapore rose 0.4%. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Wellington also moved higher.
Read: KSE-100 Index Falls as Oil, IMF Worries Hit PSX
On the domestic front, the government raised Rs688 billion in realised value from a market treasury bills auction on Wednesday, with yields rising across all tenors.
The one-month T-bill cut-off yield rose 86 basis points to 12.23%. The three-month yield rose 41 basis points to 12.4904%, while the six-month yield reached 12.4999%.
The PSX rally followed Wednesday’s 1,934.74-point gain, when the KSE-100 Index closed at 164,831.42 against 162,896.68 in the previous session.
