The bullish wave continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as its key benchmark index hit new peaks, crossing the 68,000 level for the first time in history during trading on Thursday.
At 10:50am, the KSE-100 index was hovering at 68,133.47, an increase of 377.44 points or 0.56%. It hit an intra-day high of 68,362.35 earlier in the session.
Fresh buying was led by index-heavy energy sectors, with Engro, OGDC, PPL, SHEL, PSO and NBP trading in the green.
On Wednesday, cement and steel sectors led the rally at the bourse as the benchmark ended at 67,756 after a gain of nearly 900 points.
Globally, Asian shares rallied on Thursday as US rate cuts remained on the menu, even if their timing was unclear, while the yen slid against everything except the dollar and boosted Japanese stocks.
There was also action in commodities as gold reached another record, oil a five-month peak and copper a 13-month top, helping lift shares in basic materials and energy companies.
Some of these gains were due to supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions, but they also reflect optimism about global growth given a recovery in recent factory surveys (PMI), particularly for China.
This is an intra-day update
