Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a modest recovery on Tuesday, as market sentiments were lifted following the announcement made by U.S Company Moderna, of a promising new vaccine that protects against Covid-19 is nearly 95% effective. The benchmark kse-100 gained 147.92 after witnessing a brief rally, and clocked at 40,652.67 index level by the session’s closing. The market largely remained dull during the session, as the benchmark index continues to suffer from a dry spell of volumes. The Investors’ confidence had been faltering ever since the Covid-19 resurgence has raised the possibilities of another round of lockdown. However, on Tuesday the sentiments were lifted after U.S based bio Tech Company Moderna revealed, that according to the early data new vaccine that protects against Covid-19 is nearly 95% effective. The results come hot on the heels of similar results from Pfizer, and add to growing confidence that vaccines can help end the pandemic. The recent hopes on the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine will help to rally market sentiments, which had been marred by the resurgence of Covid-19. Cautious stance was also witnessed among the equity investors, ahead of the monetary policy announcement by the state bank of Pakistan (SBP) due next week, which have driven investors to switch portfolio positions. During the session, banking stocks advanced however exploration & production sector saw selling pressure in despite making strides earlier in the day. At kse-100, the index volumes decreased from 115.8 million shares recorded in the previous session to 79.7 million shares, while the overall market volumes were recorded at around 150.34 million shares, decreasing from the previous session’s volumes of 181.45 million shares. The volume chart was led by TRG Pakistan Limited followed by BankIslami Pakistan Limited and Soneri Bank Limited. The scrips exchanged 9.91 million, 8.77 million and 8.68 million shares, respectively. Sectors that lifted the index were Commercial Banks with 93 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 52 points, Cement with 22 points, Pharmaceuticals with 7 points and Engineering with 6 points. Among the scrips, most points added to the index was by United Bank Limited which contributed 51 points followed by Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 22 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 20 points, Mari Petroleum Company Limited with 15 points and Lucky Cement Limited with 13 points. However, the sectors which continued to dent the index were Chemical with 21 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 12 points, Technology & Communication with 12 points, Fertilizer with 5 points and Investment Banks with 3 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited which stripped the index of 28 points followed by Systems Limited with 14 points, Hub Power Company Limited with 13 points, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited with 11 points and Oil & Gas Development Company Limited with 5 points. Global Markets: Stocks traded mixed as Vaccine rally stalls Global stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as Covid-19 vaccine led rally falters, since investors resorted to profit-taking. In Europe, investors primarily focused on the outlook for the EU’s near-term economic recovery after Hungary and Poland blocked the adoption of the 2021-2027 budget and recovery fund by EU governments on Monday. This was due to the budget law including a clause making access to money conditional on respecting the rule of law. Whereas in in Asia, stocks related to vaccine led economic recovery continued to rally, picking cues from Wall Street’s record highs during the previous session. In Asia, Airline stocks in the region got a boost which lifted stock markets in Japan and Hong Kong. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.42% to close at 26,014.62, after touching a 52-week high on Monday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded above the flatline till the session’s closing. However, Chinese stocks were subdued on the day, which weighed down benchmark index Shanghai composite by 0.21% to close at 3,339.90. Stocks in South Korea also edged lower, which dented Kospi index by 0.15% to 2,539.15. European stocks retreated despite positive Covid-19 vaccine news. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.5% by afternoon deals, with travel stocks shedding 1.2% as the majority of sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory. Among the major markets, UK’s FTSE-100 index led the losses, which edged lower by 1.46%, followed by Germany’s DAX and CAC-40 in France, which lost 0.30% and 0.14% respectively. In U.S, wall Street witnessed selling pressure on Tuesday as a sharp decline in drug store shares and disappointing economic data weighed on the broader market. During the early trading hours, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 327 points, while S&P 500 dipped 0.8%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also traded 0.3% lower. Tuesday’s decline came after the Dow and S&P 500 posted all-time closing highs on Monday after Moderna’s Vaccine announcement raised expectations of a sharp economic recovery.