Stocks surge at PSX, KSE-100 up nearly 1,700 points in early trade
- Benchmark index was hovering at 182,945.28
Positive momentum returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid improved macroeconomic indicators, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday.
At 9:43am, the benchmark index was hovering at 182,945.28, up by 1,685.61 points or 0.93%.
Across-the-board buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the green.
Pakistan received a record $41.6 billion in workers’ remittances during fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), marking the highest annual inflow in the country’s history.
On Thursday, PSX witnessed a volatile trading session but managed to recover most of its early losses as selective buying in blue-chip stocks helped the market stabilise following Wednesday’s sharp selloff triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 181,259.68 points, down 369.69 points or 0.20%.
Globally, Asian stocks rose sharply on Friday, led by chip and AI firms as investors brushed off concern over the stalled recovery of energy supplies through the critical Strait of Hormuz, with tit-for-tat attacks escalating between the US and Iran.
The renewed back-and-forth attacks have further eroded the fragile three-week-old ceasefire, bringing the spotlight back on oil prices and what it could mean for inflation and the global rates outlook.
Brent crude futures were set for a 5% rise in the week, their strongest weekly performance since early May. But at $76.03 per barrel, Brent has given up most of the gains it picked up when the conflict began at the end of February.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.8% while South Korea’s KOSPI, the epicentre of the AI rally, gained 2.4% in early trading. Chip bellwethers SK Hynix and Samsung were both up 3%. Taiwan markets were closed.
That left the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.76% higher.
This is an intraday update