RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a powerful rally on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging past the key psychological barrier of 150,000 points as improving investor sentiment, driven by optimism over geopolitical de-escalation in the Middle East, sparked broad-based buying and enabled the market to regain its bullish momentum.

The KSE-100 Index closed at 155,511.57 points, registering a sharp gain of 6,768.25 points or 4.55 percent compared with the previous close of 148,743.32 points. During intraday trading, the index touched a high of 157,347.18 points and a low of 151,262.77 points, reflecting strong buying interest throughout the session.

The BRIndex100 closed at 17,298.07 points, registering a rise of 775.17 points or 4.69 percent over the previous close, with a total traded volume of 535.41 million shares. The BRIndex30 closed at 59,811.98 points, gaining 3,111.67 points or 5.49 percent, with total volume standing at 373.17 million shares.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, said the market staged a sharp rebound as growing optimism surrounding geopolitical de-escalation in the Middle East triggered aggressive buying across sectors, decisively lifting the benchmark index above the crucial 150,000 level.

He noted that heavyweight stocks including United Bank, Lucky Cement, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Habib Bank, Meezan Bank, Bank Al Habib, MCB Bank, Pakistan Petroleum, National Bank, and Engro Holdings collectively contributed approximately 3,596 points to the benchmark’s rise.

Trading activity surged significantly in the ready market, with total traded volume rising to 670.87 million shares compared with 434.96 million shares in the previous session, while traded value nearly doubled to Rs 43.98 billion from Rs22.54 billion. The strong rally also led to a sharp expansion in market capitalization, which increased to Rs17.22 trillion from Rs16.53 trillion, translating into a gain of approximately Rs681.31 billion in a single session.

Market breadth remained overwhelmingly positive, with 365 companies closing higher, 67 declining, and 53 remaining unchanged out of a total of 485 traded companies in the ready market.

K-Electric Limited dominated the volumes chart with 78.57 million shares, closing at Rs7.22. Bank of PunjabXD followed with 49.51 million shares, closing at Rs26.52, while Cnergyico PK recorded 38.01 million shares to settle at Rs6.95.

Among companies reflecting increase in rates, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited recorded the largest gain, rising by Rs117.28 to close at Rs8,900.13, followed by Khyber Textile Mills Limited, which gained Rs94.79 to settle at Rs1,345.00. On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited declined by Rs185.83 to close at Rs24,101.17, while Blessed Textiles Limited lost Rs63.27 to settle at Rs815.74.

Sector-wise, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 22,668.43 points, up 694.94 points or 3.16 percent, with turnover of 2.44 million shares. The BR Cement Index posted one of the strongest gains, rising 751.75 points or 7.72 percent to close at 10,490.85 points with traded volume of 67.04 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index surged 2,870.25 points or 5.65 percent to close at 53,693.01 points, with turnover recorded at 94.59 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 758.31 points or 3.04 percent to 25,681.51 points, with 114.17 million shares traded, while the BR Oil and Gas Index advanced 473.29 points or 3.60 percent to settle at 13,618.03 points, with volume of 64.76 million shares.

The BR Tech and Communication Index also ended higher at 3,453.26 points, gaining 111.16 points or 3.33 percent, with turnover of 58.46 million shares.

Ali Najib stated that market direction in the near term would be influenced by the address of United States President Donald Trump, noting that expectations across global capital and commodity markets were tilted towards a measured and conciliatory stance, which could reinforce improving investor sentiment and support further de-escalation.

He added that the trajectory of geopolitical developments would remain the dominant factor shaping short-term movements at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, with sentiment likely to remain sensitive to international headlines.