Despite volatility at PSX, KSE-100 settles with nearly 500-point gain

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday. Despite the fluctuation, the benchmark KSE-100 Index was able to extend its upward trajectory after gaining nearly 500 points.

The market started strongly and rallied through the morning, reaching an intra-day high of 185,890.52 as investors accumulated positions in key sectors. The index traded comfortably above 185,500 during the first half of the session, reflecting a continuation of bullish sentiment.

However, the trend reversed after mid-day as profit-taking emerged across the board. Selling pressure dragged the benchmark lower, pushing it down to an intra-day low of 184,214.79 and erasing most of the earlier gains.

Selective buying returned in the final minutes of trading and helped the market recover part of its losses.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 184,520.96, up by 470.86 points or 0.26%.

“The market opened on a strong note and rallied throughout the morning, touching an intra-day high of 185,890.52 points as buying interest remained robust across key sectors. However, profit-taking emerged during the second half of the session, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 184,214.79 points before selective late-session buying helped the market recover and close in positive territory,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

On the index contribution front, heavyweight stocks UBL, LUCK, OGDC, PPL, and TRG were the major contributors to the benchmark index’s gains, collectively adding approximately 469 points to the day’s advance, Topline said.

On Wednesday, PSX opened fiscal year 2026-27 on a highly bullish note as investors cheered a softer inflation outlook, declining international oil prices and mounting expectations of an imminent interest rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The KSE-100 Index surged 3,748.40 points, or 2.08%, to settle at a record 184,050.10 points.

Globally, Asian shares skidded on Thursday as investors rotated out of chipmakers following a stellar quarter, while currency and ​bond markets braced for US jobs data that could give hints about the risk of interest rate hikes.

Oil prices fell nearly 2% ​for the third consecutive day on Thursday as concerns over supply disruptions eased after Qatar said Iran ‌and the U.S. had made progress in talks over the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent futures were $1.24 or 1.73% lower at $70.33 a barrel at 1157 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.38, or 2.01%, to $67.20 a barrel, their lowest level since late February.

On Thursday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei also dropped 1.1%, adding to losses ​from the first day of the quarter.

South Korea’s KOSPI sank 2.7%, extending a 2% slide from Wednesday.

That followed an eye-watering 68% ​surge in the second quarter on soaring AI-related demand for memory chips.

SK Hynix plunged 7.7%, and Samsung tumbled ⁠6.2%. That followed a report that Meta Platforms is building a cloud business to sell excess AI computing capacity, which sent the Facebook owner’s ​shares up 8.8% overnight.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.15, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 994.75 million from 941.48 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs55.79 billion from Rs57.09 billion in the previous session.

TPL Properties was the volume leader with 84.67 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 59.31 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 40.05 million shares.

Shares of 494 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 256 registered an increase, 217 recorded a fall, and 21 remained unchanged.