PSX rallies as Saudi Arabia pledges $3bn, KSE-100 gains nearly 2,900 points

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors rejoiced after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia committed $3 billion in additional deposits to Pakistan. The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled with a gain of nearly 2,900 points on Wednesday.

The index opened strong and rallied sharply in early trading, quickly pushing towards an intra-day high of 170,640.26.

However, the momentum failed to sustain, and the market entered a choppy, range-bound phase through mid-day, fluctuating below the 170,000 level, indicating profit-taking.

In the latter half of the session, selling pressure intensified, but the market managed to retain a solid gain for the day.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 168,519.94, a gain of 2,885.10 points or 1.74%.

“The local bourse commenced trading on a strong positive note, extending the previous session’s bullish momentum as the benchmark index surged to an impressive intra-day high of 5,005 points. However, mid-session volatility emerged, eroding a portion of the early gains and pulling the index down to an intra-day low of 2,548 points—while notably remaining in positive territory throughout the session,” Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Index-heavy stocks, including UBL, FFC, HUBC, MEBL, and BOP, posted notable gains, collectively contributing 1,251 points to the benchmark index, it said.

Behtari Capital said the market was firing on all cylinders as “a perfect storm of economic and diplomatic wins hits the floor”.

“With the Saudi deposit securing our reserves and Brent at $94 easing inflation, the macro-environment has shifted from ‘crisis mode’ to ‘growth mode’. If the round two talks are officially confirmed for tomorrow, we are looking at a clear shot toward 170,000,” it added.

In a key development, Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb informed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has committed $3 billion in additional deposits, with disbursement expected in the coming week. He further stated that the existing $5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer remain subject to the earlier annual rollover arrangement and would instead be extended for a longer period.

On Tuesday, PSX extended its sharp recovery in a powerful relief-driven rally as easing geopolitical tensions and renewed hopes of US–Iran diplomatic engagement triggered aggressive buying across the board. The KSE-100 Index closed at 165,634.85 points, gaining 5,043.51 points or 3.14%.

Internationally, Asian stocks tracked Wall Street ​higher on Wednesday as hopes for a resumption of U.S.-Iran peace talks pushed oil ‌prices lower, while the dollar steadied after seven days of losses.

President Donald Trump said talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on ​Iranian ports. Pakistani and Iranian officials also said negotiations could restart.

Signs that diplomatic engagement would ​continue helped calm markets, pushing benchmark oil prices firmly below $100 a barrel. Brent ⁠crude futures fell 0.7% to $94.13 a barrel, having slumped almost 5% overnight.

Stock investors cheered, with MSCI’s ​broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gaining 1.5% to the highest level in six weeks. Japan’s ​Nikkei also climbed 1.2% to 58,561 points, closing in on the record high of 59,332.43 from late February.

Chinese blue-chips rose 0.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.2%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.96, a gain of 0.01, against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index jumped to 1,205.84 million from 824.54 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs59.42 billion from Rs36.34 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 124.91 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 76.86 million shares, and B.O.Punjab with 76.13 million shares.

Shares of 490 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 370 registered an increase, 83 recorded a fall, and 37 remained unchanged.