PSX up nearly 900 points amid Iran-US interim peace deal

Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) after the ‌US and Iran signed an interim peace deal, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 900 points on Thursday.

During the day, investors initially reacted positively to prevailing market developments, pushing the benchmark near the intraday high of 181,869.33.

Nonetheless, substantial profit-taking at higher levels capped further gains, pushing the index to an intraday low of 181,045.34. The index rebounded sharply in the final hour of trading.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 181,398.21, up by 887.19 points or 0.49%.

“The upward momentum was primarily fueled by the continued decline in international crude oil prices, which improved the macroeconomic outlook and strengthened investor confidence,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“Further supporting sentiment was growing optimism surrounding the anticipated signing of a peace agreement MoU between Iran and the USA, reportedly scheduled for Friday. The development raised hopes of easing geopolitical tensions in the region, encouraging risk-taking activity and broad-based buying across key sectors.”

On the index contribution front, index heavyweights HUBC, SRVI, FFC, ENGROH, and PPL emerged as the primary drivers of upside momentum, collectively contributing 679 points to the benchmark’s gain, Topline said.

The signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end the Middle East war means Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz “instantly” and the American blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately”, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday.

The memorandum “shall enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, the Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade”, Shehbaz wrote on X.

On Wednesday, PSX ended the session on a marginally positive note as profit-taking after the previous two days’ strong rally restricted gains, although easing concerns over global oil prices and improving geopolitical stability continued to support investor sentiment. The KSE-100 Index added 118.04 points, or 0.07%, to close at 180,511.02 points.

Globally, Asian stocks were steady, and oil prices dipped on ​Thursday as investors assessed progress toward ending the war in the Middle East after the presidents of the ‌U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace deal, though uncertainties still hovered.

Both countries released the text of the agreement, which had already circulated widely before its contents were published. It extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a final ​truce.

US President Donald Trump, however, threatened to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honour their ​commitments.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat. Japan’s Nikkei share ​average rallied to another record high, surging past the 71,000 level for the first time, on solid gains in semiconductor and AI-related shares, ​while South Korean shares gained 0.9%. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.81% at 7,484.8.

The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 2.620%, poised for its highest close since June 16, after earlier touching 2.63%.

Oil prices fell, with U.S. crude dipping 1.25% ​to $75.83 a barrel and Brent crude down 1.4% to $78.41 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain, appreciating 0.01%, against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.26, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index rose to 1,241 million from 1,230 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares increased to Rs58.01 billion from Rs69.21 billion in the previous session.

Kohinoor Spining was the volume leader with 230.18 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 57.39 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 56.13 million shares.

Shares of 495 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 264 registered an increase, 201 recorded a fall, and 30 remained unchanged.