KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong recovery on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points after a sharp decline in the previous session.

The index had lost nearly 3,900 points in Monday's trading, marking a significant downturn. However, positive momentum throughout the session helped the KSE-100 to settle at 115,532.43, up by 622.95 points or 0.54%. During the day, the index reached an intra-day high of 116,692.29 points before pulling back slightly. Key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and refineries saw strong buying interest. Index-heavy stocks such as ARL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, MEBL, and NBP traded in the green, contributing to the overall market recovery. The recovery followed a dramatic fall on Monday, when the KSE-100 Index had plunged by nearly 8,700 points, its largest-ever intraday decline in terms of points.

Despite the sharp drop, the index recovered more than 50% of its losses by the close of the session, finishing at 114,909.48, still lower by 3,882.18 points or 3.27%. Globally, Asian stocks showed signs of recovery, bouncing off 1-1/2-year lows. U.S. stock futures pointed higher on hopes of easing trade tensions, especially after signs that Washington might negotiate some of its aggressive tariffs. Additionally, Treasury yields continued to rise from six-month lows, and crude oil prices rebounded from a nearly four-year low. In contrast, the Chinese yuan weakened to 7.36 per dollar in the offshore market, its lowest level in two months, as concerns over trade disputes with the U.S. persisted.

Despite these global challenges, markets in Hong Kong and Mainland China saw gains, with the Hang Seng climbing 1.7% and Chinese blue chips adding 0.6%. The recovery in PSX and the broader global market signals a shift in investor sentiment, with markets taking a cautious but optimistic approach amid the ongoing trade tensions.