The KSE-100 index recouped nearly half of the prior session’s losses, with advances spanning banking, energy, cement and automotive equities.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a turnaround on Wednesday, as investors stepped back into the market a day after the benchmark gauge notched one of its most precipitous falls, even as hostilities between the United States and Iran escalated and fears over global energy supplies mounted.
Data from the PSX website showed the benchmark KSE-100 Index opening decisively higher and advancing as much as 3,182.56 points to an intraday peak of 176,701.38, retracing close to half of Tuesday’s decline.
The bourse stayed in positive territory for the entire trading session.
At 2:17 pm, the KSE-100 stood at 175,112.94, having added 1,594.13 points, or 0.92%, compared with the previous close.
Purchasing interest was broad-based, encompassing automobile manufacturers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas explorers, oil marketers, power generators and refineries.
The bounce followed Tuesday’s severe sell-off, in which the KSE-100 slid 6,408.23 points, or 3.56%, to settle at 173,518.82, as participants reacted to deteriorating Middle East geopolitics and the possible fallout on global crude supplies.
The revival occurred against a backdrop of deteriorating regional security, with U.S. forces conducting a fourth straight night of attacks on Iran after President Donald Trump reimposed a blockade on Iranian maritime traffic.
Tehran vowed to interfere with further energy corridors should Washington persist in its attempts to dominate regional sea lanes.
Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait faced fresh assaults on Wednesday after Iran pledged to keep striking U.S. military installations, further eroding the temporary ceasefire.
Trump reiterated that Iranian power facilities and bridges could be struck if Tehran refused to resume talks to end the conflict that erupted with U.S. and Israeli raids on Iran on February 28.
Internationally, equities stabilized on Wednesday as encouraging results from chip-equipment firm ASML and strength in Asian semiconductor shares revitalized the artificial-intelligence theme, countering an oil-price spike triggered by renewed Iranian hostilities.
The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.05% by 08:49 GMT, after rallying the day before when softer U.S. inflation eased rate-hike worries, weakening the dollar and yields.
Technology-weighted markets in the U.S. and Asia outperformed.
Nasdaq futures gained 0.5%, while South Korea’s KOSPI leapt 6.2% and Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.5%. The MSCI World Price Index edged up less than 0.1%.
Brent crude futures advanced $1.71, or 2%, to $86.44 a barrel by 08:06 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures added $1.43, or 1.8%, to $80.77 a barrel.
