RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: In a historic turn of events, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a dramatic rebound on Monday, recording its highest-ever single-day gain in over 26 years. The surge followed a surprise ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India, brokered through diplomatic intervention by the United States, injecting a wave of optimism into the market and boosting investor confidence across the board.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index soared by a record-breaking 10,123.09 points, or 9.45 percent, closing at 117,298 points on Monday up from 107,175 points at Friday’s close. Investor sentiment turned overwhelmingly positive following the ceasefire agreement and the approval of a loan tranche by the IMF. The market opened on a strong note, with the index surging by a record 9,900 points, or 9.3 percent, right at the start of trading.
The explosive rally was so intense that trading was temporarily halted just moments after the opening bell, as the KSE-30 Index surged over 5 percent for five straight minutes, triggering the market’s circuit breaker mechanism. A market halt was triggered at 9:37 AM in accordance with PSX regulations, leading to a one-hour suspension of all equity and equity-based markets. This upside halt marks the first such occurrence in two years.
Analysts said that following a volatile week marked by heavy sell-off due to escalating border tensions with India, KSE-100 Index appears well-positioned for a rebound on Monday, supported by a series of positive developments including ceasefire between Pakistan and India and approval of IMF tranche.
On Monday, BRIndex100 closed at 12,403.25 points which was 1135.69 points or 10.08 percent higher than previous close of 11,267.56 points. Total volume at BRIndex100 was 656.771 million shares. BRIndex30 gained 3325.26 points or 10.32 percent to settle at 35,561.28 points with a total volume of 435.796 million shares.
The total traded value on the ready counter surged to Rs 30.3 billion compared to Rs 29 billion in the previous session. The market capitalization increased by Rs 1.123 trillion to Rs 14.016 trillion. Out of 462 active scrips, 405 closed in positive and 26 in negative while the value of 31 stocks remained unchanged.
K-Electric Ltd.was the volume leader with 114.4 million shares and closed at Rs 4.56 followed by At-Tahur Ltd. that closed at Rs 44.01 with 76 million shares. WorldCall Telecom ranked third with share trading of 66 million shares and it closed at Rs 1.32.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited and PIA Holding Company LimitedB the top gainers increasing by Rs 904.44 and Rs 773.52 respectively to close at Rs 22,877.32 and Rs 8,508.75, while Premium Textile Mills Limited and Sapphire Textile Mills Limited were the top losers declining by Rs 9.89 and Rs 9.43 respectively to close at Rs 390.11 and Rs 1,067.27.
Analysts at Topline Research said that the unwavering optimism was led by immediate and surprise ceasefire announced between Pakistan and India with mediation from the United States of America (USA) on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Along with this, approval of the first review of the EFF program by the IMF, unlocking a $1 billion tranche along with approval of a new RSF $1.3 billion program also boosted investors’ sentiments.
Amidst Indo Pak turmoil starting from the Apr 22, 2025 incident in Pahalgam, Kashmir, the market lost 12.5 percent in subsequent 12 sessions before recovering 3.5 percent on May 09, 2025.
They said that the geopolitical tensions also clouded various positive developments of Pakistan market and economy including all time low inflation reading of Apr 2025 at 0.3 percent YoY, scheduling of Pakistan’s first review of EFF on IMF board meeting agenda for May 09, 2025 and a surprise cut of 100bps in policy rate to 11 percent by central bank of Pakistan.
According to Topline, local individual investors who had been net sellers in the recent past were aggressive buyers during the session directly and through local mutual funds. The largest surge on the benchmark index came from FFC, UBL, ENGROH, MARI, and LUCK, which collectively eroded 3,003 points from the KSE-100.
BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 22,271.73 points, registering a net gain of 1,740.16 points or 8.48 percent, with a total turnover of 3.206 million shares. BR Cement Index ended the session at 9,807.73 points, up by 876.39 points or 9.81 percent, on a robust turnover of 70.446 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index settled at 34,666.74 points, reflecting an impressive increase of 2,950.72 points, or 9.3 percent, with total traded volume reaching 76.794 million shares. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index climbed 1,686.12 points, or 9.34 percent, to close at 19,741.85 points, with a turnover of 143.491 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index posted a gain of 1,019.09 points, or 9.9 percent, finishing at 11,312.32 points, with a total turnover of 18.761 million shares. BR Technology & Communication Index closed at 4,815.32, surged 446.21 points, or 10.21 percent with 97.823 million shares traded.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said that stocks witnessed historical surge led by scrips across the board amid surprise ceasefire over Pakistan and India tensions and Trump offer to work for Kashmir solution and increase trade substantially.
Surge in global equities and global crude oil prices after the US trade deal with China, rupee stability amid IMF board approval on disbursement under EFF and RSF and SBP policy easing played a catalyst role in record bullish close at PSX, he added.
