KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its recovery for a second consecutive session on Thursday as renewed optimism over possible resumption of dialogue between the United States and Iran improved global risk appetite.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 178,123.57 points, gaining 2,837.78 points or 1.62 percent from the previous close of 175,285.78 points. During the session, the index touched an intraday high of 178,431.74 points and a low of 175,672.34 points.
Business Recorder indices also reflected the broad-based recovery. The BRIndex100 closed at 19,572.43 points, up 346.14 points or 1.80 percent, with a total turnover of 587.93 million shares. Meanwhile, the BRIndex30 gained 1,213.24 points or 1.74 percent to close at 71,066.75 points, with total turnover of 323.34 million shares.
Commenting on the market performance, Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, said the PSX witnessed another strong session, building on Wednesday’s rally as investors continued to strengthen their positions amid media reports indicating a possible resumption of dialogue between the United States and Iran, which helped improve overall risk appetite.
He said heavyweight stocks including ENGROH, UBL, MEBL, HUBC, LUCK, FFC, HBL, MCB, FATIMA and NBP attracted strong buying interest and collectively contributed 1,490 points to the benchmark index.
Market activity also strengthened during the session. Ready market turnover increased to 736.96 million shares from 583.80 million shares a day earlier, while traded value improved to Rs34.61 billion from Rs26.05 billion. Ready market capitalization expanded to Rs20.04 trillion, compared with Rs19.78 trillion in the previous session.
Market breadth remained firmly positive as 342 companies advanced, 129 declined and 25 remained unchanged out of 496 active companies on the ready counter.
Among the most actively traded stocks, Lotte Chemical led the volume chart with 70.09 million shares, closing at Rs30.43. It was followed by TPL Properties with 52.57 million shares, closing at Rs12.77, and Ittefaq Iron Industries with 35.22 million shares at Rs9.34.
On the gainers’ chart, Khyber Textile Mills Limited emerged as the top performer, rising Rs129.82 to close at Rs2,061.33, followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited, which gained Rs40.08 to settle at Rs7,657.58. Among the laggards, PIA Holding Company Limited (B) declined Rs520.50 to close at Rs17,773.50, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell Rs374.00 to Rs25,151.00.
Sector-wise, the BR Commercial Banks Index advanced 951.63 points or 1.56 percent to 62,088.31 points on a turnover of 46.74 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index rose 606.86 points or 2.19 percent to 28,303.23 points, with 34.92 million shares traded.
The BR Cement Index posted one of the strongest gains, climbing 328.28 points or 2.68 percent to 12,578.98 points on turnover of 40.58 million shares. The BR Oil and Gas Index added 146.72 points or 0.99 percent to close at 15,039.34 points, while the BR Tech & Communication Index increased 73.22 points or 1.98 percent to 3,764.98 points with turnover of 65.16 million shares.
The BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 199.24 points or 0.85 percent to settle at 23,734.82 points on turnover of 2.83 million shares.
Looking ahead, Najib said market direction would continue to depend on developments on the geopolitical front, adding that continued progress in US-Iran negotiations, coupled with the ongoing corporate earnings season, could provide further support to equities and help sustain the ongoing recovery.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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