Buying continues at PSX, KSE-100 up 300 points in early trade

Positive sentiments were observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the US-Iran conflict remained at a stalemate, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday. At 9: 45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 178, 497. 71, up by 297. 69 points or 0. 17%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green. In a key development, Pakistan’s inflation reading was back in single digits as CPI clocked in at 9. 2% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in July 2026, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Monday. On Monday, PSX staged a strong recovery as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a sharp decline in international crude oil prices reignited investor confidence and triggered broad-based buying across key sectors. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 2, 105. 91 points, or 1. 20%, to settle at 178, 200. 02 points. Internationally, Asian markets made cautious gains at the start of trading as investors followed a global rally, with oil prices holding near the lowest levels ​in weeks as the US-Iran conflict remained at a stalemate. MSCI’s broadest index ‌of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0. 1%, led by South Korean shares rallying as much as 2. 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0. 3%, while S&P 500 e-mini futures nudged 0. 1% higher. Overnight, markets took confidence from ​data showing that US manufacturing activity increased to the highest level in more than ​four years in July, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record ⁠close. Oil prices made limited gains as trading resumed in Asia, with Brent crude up 0. 6% at $84. 29 a barrel, after falling to a three-week low ​on Monday as US President Donald Trump said he had held off on a ​fresh attack on Iran as a gesture of goodwill in peace talks. However, Tehran has denied that any negotiations ‌are ⁠taking place. This is an intraday update

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