Pakistan stocks extend their rally at the open on June 22 after Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed a 60-day roadmap, with the rupee holding near Rs279 and crude little changed. Figures are intraday; the session had not closed at the time of reporting.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange opened the week on a firm note on Monday, June 22, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining more than 800 points in early trade as Iranian negotiators signalled progress in peace talks with the United States. At 9:45am the index was hovering at 179,765.33, up 842.58 points or 0.47%, according to Business Recorder. These are intraday figures; the session had not closed at the time of reporting.
Independent market data corroborated the upbeat open: Trading Economics showed the KSE-100 around 179,253 on June 22, up about 0.18% from the previous close of 178,922.77, leaving the index up roughly 4.4% over the month and more than 54% year on year.
The catalyst was diplomatic. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement that the first high-level session between US and Iranian officials had concluded in a “positive and constructive atmosphere” and that the two sides had agreed a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days, per Xinhua’s account of the statement. The Washington Examiner and CNN separately reported the mediators citing “encouraging progress,” with technical talks set to continue through the week in Switzerland.
Oil, the key swing factor for Pakistan’s import-heavy economy, was broadly steady. Business Recorder put Brent crude near $80.17 a barrel, down about 0.4%, with US crude around $77.52, up roughly 1.2%, in its PSX wrap.
Buying at the PSX was broad-based, with gains concentrated in automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil-and-gas exploration companies, oil marketing firms and refineries, Business Recorder noted, naming index heavyweights such as OGDC, PPL, MARI, MCB, MEBL, NBP, HUBCO and DGKC among the early movers.
The rupee was largely stable. In the open market on June 22 the US dollar was quoted around Rs278.9 for buying and Rs279.5 for selling, little changed on the day, according to Daily Pakistan. Brokerages AKD Research and Arif Habib Limited expected the market to stay supported by compliance with the US-Iran interim deal and favourable June corporate results, while warning that geopolitics and a Muharram-shortened week could keep trading choppy, Profit by Pakistan Today reported.
