KSE-100 surges nearly 5,900 points as ceasefire hopes drive rally

Buying spree returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors rejoiced after US President Donald Trump said Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 5,900 points during the intra-day trading on Tuesday.

At 11:30am, the benchmark index was hovering at 122,045.62 level, an increase of 5,878.15 points or 5.06%.

Across-the-board buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, ARL, SSGC, PSO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, UBL and HBL traded in the green.

“The ceasefire announcement and a 3-4% drop in international oil prices are driving the buying rally at the bourse,” said Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told media.

“The market believes the geopolitical situation will now come under control,” she added.

Intense selling pressure gripped the PSX on Monday amid escalating geopolitical tensions following a US attack on Iran, with the benchmark KSE-100 settling with a loss of nearly 3,900 points.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 116,167.47 level, a decrease of 3,855.77 points or 3.21%.

Internationally, global shares rallied and the dollar extended declines on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire, sending oil prices into a deep dive as concerns over supply disruptions ebbed.

While an Iranian official earlier confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, the country’s foreign minister said there would be no cessation of hostilities unless Israel stopped its attacks.

Oil prices fell over 3%, having already slid 9% on Monday when Iran made a token retaliation against a US base, which came to nothing and signalled it was done for now.

With the immediate threat to the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane seemingly over, U.S. crude futures fell another 3.4% to $66.15 per barrel, the lowest since June 11.

Risk assets rallied, with S&P 500 futures up 0.6% and Nasdaq futures 0.9% higher.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures jumped 1.3% and FTSE futures rose 0.4%.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 1.8% while Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.4%.

This is an intra-day update