The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued to witness selling pressure on Tuesday, as a result of which the benchmark KSE 100 Index recorded a decline of more than 2,500 points during the early trading session. In the afternoon, the benchmark index fell by 2,516.72 points or 2.16 percent to 113,738.40 points. Selling pressure was seen in key sectors including automobile assemblers, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizers, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. There was a negative trend in index heavy stocks including NRL, ATRL, PSO, SSGC, MARI, OGDC, PPL, MCB, MEBL and UBL. Experts attributed the decline to the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan and a significant increase in PSO recoveries, which affected the overall market sentiment, especially in the oil and gas sector. It should be remembered that on Monday The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed volatility, resulting in an increase in both buying and selling in the benchmark KSE 100 Index, ending the day down 1332 points at 116255.13 points.
Internationally, Asian shares rose on Tuesday, led by a positive Wall Street lead and some investors hoping that US President-elect Donald Trump will take a less aggressive tariff stance than promised after taking office. The Washington Post reported on Monday that Trump’s aides are considering tariff plans that would apply to every country but would only cover specific sectors deemed important to national or economic security. Although the news initially led to a surge in stocks and a drop in the dollar, Trump’s later denials on his Twitter social media platform reversed some of the US currency’s decline. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.16 percent in early Asian trading, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 2 percent.