A day after witnessing intense selling pressure, buying interest returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as US President Donald Trump predicted the war in the Middle East could end soon. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 6.6% during trading on Tuesday.
The market opened on a positive note, reflecting renewed buying interest across key sectors, causing the benchmark index to gain 9,303.75 points, or 6.35%.
Following the increase, a Market Halt was triggered, and all equity-based markets were suspended.
“All TRE Certificate Holders are hereby informed that due to a 5% increase in the KSE-30 index from the previous trading day close of the same, a Market Halt has been triggered as per PSX Regulations and all equity-based markets have been suspended accordingly,” read the notice.
The KSE-100 Index continued to surge sharply mid-morning after the market resumed trading at 10:22am, reaching an intraday high of 158,354.12.
Following the peak, the index experienced a gradual pullback, indicating some profit-taking by traders. Despite this, the market remained well above the opening levels, as bullish sentiment continued.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 156,177.12, up by 9,696.98 points or 6.62%.
This was the benchmark index’s second-highest jump in terms of points, said Arif Habib Limited.
“The rally followed the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 10.5%, which reassured investors and revived risk appetite,” said Topline Securities, in its post-market commentary.
“Sentiment was further lifted by improving global markets, while declining oil prices — after comments from President Donald Trump suggesting the Middle East conflict may ease soon — helped calm fears of prolonged energy supply disruptions,” it added.
Index-heavy constituents —FFC, ENGROH, UBL, HUBC, and MEBL — emerged as major gainers, collectively adding 3,621 points to the index during the session, said the brokerage house.
On Monday, Pakistan’s equity market witnessed one of its most dramatic sessions in recent history as heavy selling pressure swept through the trading floor, triggering a broad-based rout across multiple sectors, largely attributed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and sharp jolts in international oil markets.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by 11,015.95 points, or 6.99%, to close at 146,480.15 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks rallied, and oil prices plunged at the start of trading on Tuesday, following a volatile session for markets overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the Middle East war could be “over soon.”
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.6%, paring losses since the start of the conflict, while Brent crude futures fell as much as 10% to below $90 per barrel as trading resumed. US equity futures were more muted, with S&P 500 e-mini futures down 0.2% to pare Monday’s rebound.
Trump’s remarks injected a burst of optimism that contrasted sharply with events in Iran, where hardliners rallied behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a pointed show of defiance.
With investor confidence steadying after Monday’s selloff amid signs of increased risk-taking by retail investors, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3.6%, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4%. The gains prompted the Korea Exchange to trigger a sidecar trading curb after futures rose more than 5%, halting programme trading for five minutes.
The backdrop for markets remained tense, however, with Iran’s military warning that it would step up its missile strikes in a further sign of defiance.
Volume on the all-share index declined to 486.52 million from 621.65 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares decreased to Rs31.22 billion from Rs37.12 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd. was the volume leader with 53.27 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 38.63 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 27.36 million shares.
Shares of 485 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 388 registered an increase, 43 recorded a fall, and 54 remained unchanged.
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