PSX stages 'strong recovery' as KSE-100 index gains 2,800 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index staged a “strong recovery” on Thursday as it surged by around 2,800 points to cross 178,000 points.

The KSE-100 index opened in the green and had already surpassed the 177,000-point level by 10:02am. From 11am onwards, it maintained a gain of over 2,000 points compared to the previous close.

Finally, the index gained 2,837.78 points (1.62 per cent) to close at 178,123.56 points from the previous close of 175,285.78.

Topline Securities Ltd said the market “staged a strong recovery, extending Wednesday’s rebound as broad-based buying returned to the market”.

“Improved investor sentiment, easing concerns over geopolitical tensions, and renewed interest in blue-chip stocks helped the index recover a significant portion of the losses recorded earlier this week,” the brokerage house noted.

Heavyweight stocks Engro Holdings, United Bank Limited, Meezan Bank Limited, Hub Power Company, and Lucky Cement emerged as the top contributors, collectively adding approximately 967 points to the benchmark index’s overall gain, Topline said.

Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, noted that the market continued Wednesday’s rebound after US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks.

Trump said on Wednesday that Tehran was eager to reach a deal with Washington. “They want to settle so badly. They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off.”

According to Ashraf, the US president’s remarks indicated that he wanted “to bring Iran back to the negotiation table to end the conflict”.

“Stability in oil prices for the past two days is also adding to investor confidence,” he observed earlier in the day when oil prices had slipped slightly.

However, Brent crude futures were up 93 cents, or 1.09pc, to $85.88 a barrel at 6:20 PKT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were up 89 cents, or 1.12pc, to $80.49 a barrel.

The rise came as concerns over energy supplies increased after the Iran war escalated with intensifying strikes in the Middle East and amid reports of Tehran asking Yemen’s Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route.

The sustained positive momentum at the stock market comes as KSE-100 continues to recover from Tuesday’s bloodbath.

On Tuesday, the index had lost 6,408.23 points due to panic-driven selling amid renewed fighting between the US and Iran, which heightened concerns about energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Additional input from Reuters ...