Buying returns to bourse, KSE-100 gains over 2,900 points in early trade

A day after observing a massive selloff, buying momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 2,900 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 154,878.85, up by 2,905.86 or 1.91%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, E&Ps, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, POL, PPL, HUBCO, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green. On Monday, PSX suffered one of the most dramatic trading days in its history as mounting geopolitical tensions and sharp global risk aversion sparked a massive selloff, wiping out vast amounts of market value and shaking investor confidence nationwide. By the closing bell, the KSE-100 had fallen a staggering 16,089.17 points, i.e. 9.57%, settling at 151,973.00, marking the largest single-day point decline on record.