KSE-100 soars past 125,000 as bullish momentum continues
At 9:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 125,191.97 level, an increase of 812.91 points or 0.65%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO and SSGC traded in the green.
During the previous week, the PSX witnessed a stellar performance as the benchmark KSE-100 Index jumped by 4,355 points, or 3.6%, on a week-on-week (WoW) basis to close at an all-time high of 124,379 points on Friday.
The sharp rally was largely driven by easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the smooth passage of the federal budget in the National Assembly.
Internationally, Asia shares firmed on Monday as signs of progress in a trade standoff between the United States and Canada helped risk sentiment, while the dollar dipped on concerns U.S. jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts.
Canada on Sunday said it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from President Donald Trump.
The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his 'reciprocal' tariffs.
Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday.
Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge U.S. tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries.
There was no doubting the demand for the U.S. tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon.
Nasdaq futures rose another 0.4%, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.3%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.2%, while FTSE futures were flat and DAX futures gained 0.3%.
The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan's Nikkei which rose 1.6%, while South Korean stocks gained 0.8%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%.
This is an intra-day update
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