KSE-100 gains 780 points to 172,182 in afternoon trade after hitting an intraday high of 172,762; buying spreads across banks, energy, cement and auto stocks
Buying activity strengthened at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran eased concerns over energy supplies and oil prices, while investors also turned their attention to Pakistan’s ongoing IMF programme review.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened on a positive note, gaining around 950 points in the early minutes of trading, according to PSX data. The rally gathered momentum during the session, with the index touching an intraday high of 172,762.41 at around 12:30 pm.
Buying was broad-based across key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies and refineries.
At 2:05 pm, the KSE-100 was hovering at 172,182.25, up 780.17 points, or 0.46%, from the previous close.
Investor attention also remained focused on Pakistan’s engagement with the IMF. According to media reports, an IMF staff mission has arrived in Pakistan to begin negotiations for the fourth review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility and the third review under the $2 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The market’s gains also came as concerns over Pakistan’s economic outlook remained in focus. The Asian Development Bank expects economic growth to remain at 3.7% in FY27, while inflation is projected to accelerate to 8.3%, with lingering effects of the Middle East conflict, elevated energy costs and exchange-rate pressures constraining a stronger recovery.
Pakistan is expected to grow considerably slower than the wider South Asian region, which the ADB forecasts will expand by 6.5% in 2027. India is projected to grow 7.1%, Bangladesh 4%, Nepal 4.1% and Afghanistan 2.2%. Pakistan’s 3.7% growth forecast is unchanged from FY26.
The PSX had closed marginally higher on Tuesday after late-session value hunting helped the market recover from earlier losses amid declining international oil prices and developments surrounding efforts to ease regional tensions.
The KSE-100 remained range-bound during Tuesday’s session before closing at 171,402.08 points.
In Asia, stocks rose on Wednesday as consumer hunger for AI apps continued to buoy tech stocks. Renewed buzz over AI helped South Korean stocks gain 0.9%, with Samsung up nearly 1%, while Taiwan’s benchmark firmed 0.8% to near all-time peaks.
European equities rose on Wednesday as oil prices fell for a sixth straight session, while a fresh wave of AI optimism lifted tech stocks globally.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.17% to 643.86 points, while Brent crude futures fell 0.40% to $98.83 per barrel.
On Wall Street, futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 were up 0.10% and 0.03%, respectively.
An MSCI index of global stocks was steady after four consecutive days of gains.
Reuters reported, citing sources that Saudi Arabia had restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline and may have already resumed exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
US President Donald Trump also said talks with Iran in New York had made progress, but then threatened to “annihilate” the country if a deal was not reached.
Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.16%, to $99.41 a barrel by 0809 GMT while West Texas Intermediate futures fell 50 cents, or 0.55%, to $90.02.
The Brent benchmark hit its lowest since September 8 in the previous session at $97.36. WTI touched its lowest since September 1 earlier on Wednesday.