KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic rally on Monday as investor confidence returned following the suspension of military strikes between the United States and Iran, raising hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict and the reopening of key shipping routes.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 7,241.13 points, or 4.23 percent, to close at 178,262.34 points against the previous close of 171,021.20 points. The market remained firmly in positive territory throughout the session, touching an intraday high of 178,588.34 points and a low of 175,153.17 points.
Business Recorder indices also reflected the strong recovery. BRIndex100 closed at 19,633.42 points, gaining 916.57 points, or 4.90 percent, with a total turnover of 899.39 million shares. BRIndex30 surged 3,861.58 points, or 5.72 percent, to close at 71,391.83 points, with total volume standing at 441.77 million shares.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, said investor sentiment improved sharply after geopolitical tensions eased, triggering broad-based buying across the market.
He said hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict and the possible resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz significantly boosted investors’ risk appetite. He added that the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11.5 percent also supported sentiment by balancing inflationary risks arising from geopolitical developments with improving macroeconomic indicators and the country’s recent sovereign rating upgrade.
According to Najib, UBL, Engro Holdings, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Meezan Bank, Lucky Cement, Hub Power, Habib Bank, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company and National Bank of Pakistan collectively contributed 4,129 points to the benchmark index’s gains.
Trading activity strengthened significantly. Total volume on the ready market increased to 1.03 billion shares from 579.94 million shares in the previous session, while traded value surged to Rs41.02 billion from Rs23.90 billion. Market capitalisation expanded by approximately Rs742.78 billion to Rs20.02 trillion.
Market breadth remained overwhelmingly positive as 409 of the 496 traded companies closed higher, while only 63 declined and 24 remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom led the volume chart with 135.86 million shares, followed by Trust Brokerage with 92.63 million shares, Cnergyico Pakistan with 81.34 million shares, K-Electric with 59.23 million shares and TPL Properties with 55.23 million shares.
Among major gainers, PIA Holding Company Limited (B) rose by Rs570.00 to close at Rs18,238.00 per share, while Unilever Pakistan Foods gained Rs289.00 to settle at Rs25,300.00 per share.
On the downside, The Thal Industries Corporation fell Rs69.83 to Rs1,017.82 per share, while The Premier Sugar Mills declined Rs46.94 to Rs505.79 per share.
Among sectoral BR indices, the BR Cement Index emerged as the top performer, climbing 6.84 percent. The BR Commercial Banks Index advanced 4.73 percent, followed by the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index, up 4.54 percent.
The BR Oil and Gas Index gained 4.12 percent, the BR Automobile Assembler Index rose 3.66 percent, while the BR Tech & Communication Index increased 3.42 percent.
Analysts said the market’s near-term direction would largely depend on continued stability in the Middle East, movement in international oil prices and the ongoing corporate earnings season.
They added that improving macroeconomic fundamentals could provide further support to investor sentiment if geopolitical risks continue to ease.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026