KSE-100 gains nearly 1,100 points as US-Iran tensions ease

Buying returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors sought comfort over US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a planned attack on Iran, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,100 points on Tuesday.

The market opened on a strong bullish note, with the index quickly climbing above the 164,000 level during early trading hours. The positive momentum remained strong in the first half of the session, pushing the index to an intra-day high of 164,309.64.

However, profit-taking emerged soon after the early rally, dragging the benchmark index sharply lower through midday trade. The index slipped to an intra-day low of 162,563.58 around early afternoon.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 162,896.68, an increase of 1,091.66 points or 0.67%.

“The local bourse witnessed a robust pullback session today, recouping a portion of recent losses as investor confidence made a notable comeback. The benchmark index opened on a positive trajectory and sustained its upward momentum throughout the trading session,” Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“Market sentiment remained buoyant amid encouraging developments in the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran, which helped ease geopolitical concerns. Additionally, a slight decline in international oil prices provided further comfort to investors by alleviating inflationary worries and strengthening expectations of macroeconomic stability.”

On the stock-specific front, heavyweight names including UBL, BAHL, FFC, OGDC, and PPL remained in the spotlight, collectively contributing 751 points to the benchmark index’s gain, Topline said.

Behtari Capital, in a note, said buying was due to a perfect storm of positive news.

“President Trump has officially paused military action against Iran after a Pakistan-mediated peace proposal, while the government announces a futuristic move to tokenise sovereign bonds via blockchain,” it said.

On Monday, PSX came under heavy selling pressure as investor sentiment remained fragile amid the absence of meaningful progress in ongoing United States-Iran negotiations, persistent geopolitical uncertainty and elevated international crude oil prices. The KSE-100 Index lost 3,791.05 points, or 2.29%, to close at 161,805.02 points.

Internationally, Asian shares wobbled on Tuesday while bonds found their footing following a steep ​selloff after Trump decided to pause a planned attack on Iran and his claim that there was a good chance of a ‌nuclear deal sent oil prices lower.

Still, investors ​remained cautious after being rattled in the previous session by a weekend drone strike in the United Arab Emirates.

Brent crude futures fell more than 2% to $109.41 a barrel on the back of Trump’s comments, while U.S. ​crude was down 1.3% to $107.25 per barrel, though both remained more than 50% above their pre-war levels.

In share markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.22%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 1%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2%.

Nasdaq futures reversed early gains to trade 0.07% lower, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.03%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.4%, ​while FTSE futures and DAX futures edged 0.3% and 0.4% higher, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.57, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 391.93 million from 499.79 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs22.97 billion from Rs19.44 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 23.94 million shares, followed by Engro Holdings with 22.94 million shares, and B.O.Punjab with 19.06 million shares.

Shares of 480 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 262 registered an increase, 171 recorded a fall, and 47 remained unchanged.