KEY POINTS
- KSE-100 jumps 7,422.27 points (4.68%) to close at 165,865.69, PSX says
- Broad-based rally led by banking, energy, cement and textile sectors
- Brokers cite easing geopolitical tensions and renewed IMF optimism
- The move is the second-biggest single-session gain in PSX history
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark equity index staged a dramatic recovery on Tuesday, with the KSE-100 rising 7,422.27 points, a 4.68 per cent gain, to finish at 165,865.69, according to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Market Summary.
The exchange’s data portal revealed the surge featured broad participation across major sectors and a sharp pickup in trading activity.
While intra-day volatility has been high in recent sessions, market commentators noted that today’s rebound ranks among the biggest single-session rallies on record: several national business outlets characterised the movement as the second-largest one-day gain in the KSE-100’s history, second only to a record surge earlier in the year.
Those media accounts cited historical market data and market participants for the comparison.
The PSX data showed a wide market breadth, with a large majority of active scrips advancing as investors rotated into banking, energy, cement and textile names.
Brokers said the rally was driven by a combination of easing regional tensions, fresh optimism about Pakistan’s discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and bargain-hunting after recent heavy selling.
“Today was a classic rebound — oversold conditions attracted buyers once geopolitical fears eased and there were clearer signals on the IMF track,” said a senior research director at a leading brokerage. Local institutional and retail participants both added positions as sentiment improved.
Market players underlined an improvement in foreign portfolio flows relative to the panic-driven outflows of the prior week.
Several brokerage notes said foreign interest, while still cautious, returned in pockets as headline risks diminished. Analysts caution, however, that the rally could prove fragile if macro or political developments revive uncertainty.
Breadth, turnover and sector action
The exchange reported broad gains: the number of advancing stocks clearly outnumbered decliners, and leading sectors posted double-digit returns on average.
Trading turnover and volumes rose sharply from recent lows, reflecting renewed risk appetite among both local and foreign investors.
Banking counters led gains on revived demand for the financials, while energy and cement stocks benefited from rotation into cyclical names. Textile stocks rallied after exporters’ names staged a catch-up move.
Market strategists cautioned that while the session’s breadth was healthy, sustaining the rebound will depend on real economy signals — notably the IMF nod to the next tranche, upcoming trade and current-account figures, and any re-escalation of regional tensions.
“This is an important recovery, but investors need confirmation from macro data and funding clarity to call a durable trend reversal,” one economist said.
Record context and outlook
Business press coverage and market pundits noted that today’s point gain places the session among the largest jumps the benchmark has ever recorded.
Analysts said such extreme single-day moves are commonly driven by a sharp removal (or perceived removal) of an overhanging risk premium, triggering mechanical and discretionary buying across the market.
