A volatile session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, as investors engaged in profit-taking amid inconclusive talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities.
The market kicked off trading on a positive note, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 166,729.97. Stocks swung both ways throughout the trading session, with profit-taking observed in the final hours of dragging the index down to an intra-day low of 164,306.76.
At close, the KSE-100 settled at 164,530.80, a decrease of 735.94 points or 0.45%.
“The market has entered a feeding frenzy phase where central banks, funds, and retail investors are all in, and naturally, few are willing to sell winning positions, which is keeping upside momentum intact,” Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global Capital Ltd, wrote in a note.
“Gold has already surged 50% in 2025 and is now eyeing $4,500. Silver is also pushing toward its 2011 highs and could continue surging if the breakout continues, as long-term projections suggest. That said, early signs of profit-taking are emerging in intraday action, hinting at rising volatility ahead.
“Short-term pullbacks are likely after such steep moves, but the broader uptrend remains firmly in place,” he added.
Major draggers included HBL, UBL, NBP, SYS, and BAFL, which collectively wiped out 639 points from the index. Conversely, selective buying in MCB, LUCK, and ENGRO contributed 317 points, providing some cushion to the benchmark, brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
In a major development, Pakistan and the IMF made significant progress toward a SLA following review talks under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the Washington-based lender said after concluding its mission to the country.
“The IMF mission and the Pakistani authorities made significant progress toward reaching an SLA on the second review under the 37-month Extended Arrangement under the EFF and on the first review of the 28-month arrangement under the RSF.
“Program implementation remains strong, and broadly aligned with the authorities’ commitments,” the IMF said in a statement.
Moreover, Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, a ceasefire and hostage deal that could open the way to ending a bloody two-year-old war that has upended the Middle East.
On Wednesday, the PSX witnessed a volatile and bearish session as early optimism faded amid aggressive institutional selling. The KSE-100 closed at 165,266.75 points, down 907 points or 0.55%.
Internationally, Asian stock markets scored fresh highs on Thursday as investors doubled down on all things AI-related, while gold held atop $4,000 and the dollar retained its recent hefty gains.
Oil prices dipped as geopolitical tensions eased a little on news that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire plan to end the two-year conflict.
US President Donald Trump said he might travel to Egypt this weekend to discuss further steps in the deal.
In equity markets, a resumption of the bull run in AI-related tech saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reach record highs as funds were again rewarded for buying the dips.
A jump in tech pushed Japan’s Nikkei up 1.5% and back near all-time peaks. Data showed offshore funds bought a net 2.5 trillion yen ($16.40 billion) worth of Japanese shares in the week through October 4.
Stocks in Taiwan climbed 1.2% to a fresh record, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.3%.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain against the US dollar, gaining Re0.01 in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 281.20, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 1,274 million from 1,570 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares decreased to Rs50.53 billion from Rs61.13 billion in the previous session.
P.T.C.L. was the volume leader with 114.32 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 88.05 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 87.48 million shares.
Shares of 481 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 184 registered an increase, 264 recorded a fall, and 33 remained unchanged.
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