KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended on a positive note on Monday, though early strong momentum faded amid renewed geopolitical uncertainty and volatility in global oil markets, tempering investor sentiment toward the close.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 954.77 points or 0.59 percent to settle at 163,948.94 points, compared to the previous close of 162,994.17 points. The index exhibited a wide intraday range, touching a high of 167,245.54 points and a low of 163,417.84 points, reflecting heightened volatility throughout the session.
BRIndex performance also reflected a positive trend. BRIndex100 gained 123.41 points or 0.69 percent to close at 17,917.44 with a total volume of 539.35 million shares, while BRIndex30 rose by 519.46 points or 0.83 percent to 62,831.30 with a volume of 331.14 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market opened strongly on easing geopolitical tensions and optimism surrounding Iran–US developments, which encouraged early buying. However, sentiment turned volatile later in the session after reports of missile activity in the Strait of Hormuz briefly rattled global markets, leading to a spike in oil prices and the US Dollar Index.
Subsequent denial of the incident helped stabilize sentiment to some extent. He noted that UBL, FFC, MCB, OGDC, and HUBC added 544 points to the index, while MEBL, MLCF, POL, ATRL, and KOHC collectively dragged it down by 194 points. He added that elevated oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty may keep near-term sentiment cautious, with 160,000 likely to act as strong support while 175,000 remains achievable if tensions ease.
Trading activity remained robust, though slightly lower than the previous session. In the ready market, total turnover stood at 696.70 million shares, compared to 837.37 million shares previously, while traded value declined to Rs34.91 billion from Rs36.34 billion. Market capitalization increased to Rs18.12 trillion from Rs18.02 trillion, reflecting a gain of approximately Rs101.83 billion.
Market breadth remained positive, with 295 companies advancing, 151 declining, and 41 remaining unchanged out of a total of 487 companies traded in the ready market.
Among the top traded companies in the ready market, Hascol Petroleum led with a turnover of 51.51 million shares, closing at Rs21.33. Cnergyico PK followed with 50.17 million shares, closing at Rs8.27, while Sui Southern Gas Company recorded 49.68 million shares, closing at Rs26.52.
On the gaining side, Blessed Textiles Limited and Sazgar Engineering Works Limited emerged as top performers, each rising by Rs72.16 to close at Rs1,294.00 and Rs2,040.07, respectively. On the losing side, Bhanero Textile Mills Limited declined by Rs77.64 to Rs812.36, while The Premier Sugar Mills fell by Rs33.92 to Rs506.50.
Sector-wise, the BR Automobile Assembler Index increased by 136.83 points (0.53 percent) to 25,797.27 with a turnover of 3.24 million shares. The BR Cement Index, however, declined by 31.09 points (-0.29 percent) to 10,859.67 with 35.60 million shares traded.
The BR Commercial Banks Index edged up by 55.17 points (0.10 percent) to 55,421.02 with 59.20 million shares, while the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index rose by 207.23 points (0.75 percent) to 27,923.57 with 46.45 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index gained 25.50 points (0.18 percent) to close at 14,142.15 with a turnover of 119.55 million shares, and the BR Technology & Communication Index advanced by 30.19 points (0.86 percent) to 3,531.93 with 69.44 million shares traded.
Overall, the session reflected resilience in the face of global uncertainty, as early optimism gave way to volatility but still allowed the market to close in positive territory, supported by selective buying in index heavyweights and improving macro sentiment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026