PSX surrenders early gains, KSE-100 ends lower by 450 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging both ways before surrendering strong early gains to close lower.

Trading began on a positive note, pushing the benchmark to an intra-day high of 180,507.82 points, reflecting strong buying interest at the opening bell.

However, the upward momentum proved unsustainable as investors opted to book profits following the initial rally. The benchmark gradually retreated throughout the day, with intermittent recovery attempts failing to gain traction.

Selling pressure intensified during the afternoon session, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 178,337.14 points.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 178,471.86 points, down by 450.89 points or 0.25%.

On the index contribution front, heavyweight constituents FFC, BAHL, HBL, LUCK, and MCB emerged as the primary drivers of downward momentum, collectively contributing 326 points to the benchmark’s decline, brokerage house Topline Securities said.

The first round of talks between high-ranking US and Iranian officials in Switzerland ended Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran’s announcement it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and US President Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.

A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, according to the statement, which was released by the Qatari foreign ministry.

Later during the day, PM Shehbaz Sharif commended the leadership of both the United States and Iran for their continued commitment to constructive engagement.

During the previous week, PSX witnessed a strong bull run as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, coupled with investor-friendly fiscal measures announced in the FY27 budget, significantly boosted sentiment and triggered aggressive buying across major sectors. The KSE-100 Index surged by 6,522.84 points, or 3.8%, on a week-on-week basis to close at 178,922.75 points, compared with 172,399.91 points a week earlier.

Globally, Asian share markets swung higher ​on Monday as Iranian negotiators said progress had been made in peace talks with the United States, helping calm fears that the process ‌was breaking down.

The news saw Brent crude futures ⁠shed early gains to ease 0.4% to $80.17 a barrel, far away from its May peak of $126.41.

US crude remained 1.2% firmer at $77.52 a barrel.

Japan’s Nikkei ​rose 1.9%, having climbed almost 8% last week to all-time highs. South Korea’s red-hot market added another 2.6%, after surging more than 11% last week ​on demand for semiconductor stocks.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.0%, while Chinese blue chips were flat.

The Pakistani rupee posted a marginal gain, appreciating 0.01%, against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.22, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 807.48 million from 1,050.04 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares decreased to Rs36.17 billion from Rs54.14 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 59.56 million shares, followed by TPL Corp Ltd with 59.27 million shares, and TPL Properties with 56.03 million shares.

Shares of 491 companies were traded on Monday, of which 214 registered an increase, 240 recorded a fall, and 37 remained unchanged.