RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied strongly on Wednesday as constructive US-Iran discussions, the arrival of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission for key programme reviews, and aggressive buying in refinery stocks amid expectations of progress on long-awaited upgrade agreements boosted investor sentiment.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 830.43 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 172,232.51, compared to Tuesday’s close of 171,402.08. The index touched an intraday high of 172,762.41 and a low of 171,843.51.

The BRIndex100 closed at 18,992.10 points, gaining 136.71 points, or 0.73 percent, from the previous close of 18,855.39 points, with total turnover reaching 616.692 million shares. The BRIndex30 increased by 502.98 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 69,287.11 points compared to 68,784.13 points previously, with total volume recorded at 393.314 million shares.

According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market maintained buoyant momentum throughout the trading session as developments on the geopolitical front helped ease investor concerns. He noted that the meeting between US and Iranian delegations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where both sides reportedly acknowledged their discussions as constructive, provided support to broader market sentiment.

On the domestic front, Najib said the reported arrival of the IMF staff mission in Pakistan to begin negotiations for the fourth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) provided an additional impetus to investor confidence.

He further noted that buying interest strengthened in the refinery sector during the second half of the session amid market rumours that the Refinery Policy Agreement signing ceremony could take place on Thursday. The expectations of possible progress on the long-awaited refinery upgrade agreements prompted investors to position themselves in refinery stocks ahead of a potential announcement.

At the individual stock level, FFC, UBL, MEBL, ATRL, ENGROH, PPL, CNERGY, MARI, EFERT and HUBC collectively contributed 721 points to the KSE-100 Index, providing the principal support behind the benchmark’s advance.

Trading activity in the ready market also strengthened significantly. Total ready-market volume increased to 773.594 million shares from 641.834 million shares in the previous session, representing an increase of 131.759 million shares, or 20.53 percent.

Total traded value rose sharply to Rs26.453 billion from Rs18.466 billion, increasing by Rs7.987 billion, or 43.25 percent. Market capitalization also expanded by Rs84.732 billion to Rs19.179 trillion from Rs19.094 trillion previously.

Ready-market breadth remained firmly positive, with 262 companies advancing, 196 declining and 38 remaining unchanged out of 496 active issues.

Cnergyico PK dominated the ready-market volume chart with 150.275 million shares. The stock closed at Rs14.31 compared to Rs13.20 previously.

WorldCall Telecom followed with 91.079 million shares. It closed at Rs1.03 against Rs1.00.

Tasdeeq Information recorded 58.642 million shares. The stock finished at Rs4.86 compared to Rs4.91.

In ready-market absolute price movements, PIA Holding Company LimitedB posted the largest gain, rising Rs259.28 to close at Rs15,932.33. Khyber Textile Mills Limited followed with an increase of Rs58.58 to settle at Rs1,871.26.

On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited recorded the largest decline, falling Rs250.00 to close at Rs25,000.00, while Pakistan Services Limited declined by Rs70.82 to end at Rs1,151.42.

The BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 64.96 points, or 0.29 percent, to settle at 22,603.93 points on turnover of 1.916 million shares.

The BR Cement Index advanced 28.25 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 12,051.31 points, with total turnover of 21.203 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index rose 160.04 points, or 0.27 percent, to 59,347.22 points on turnover of 15.061 million shares.

The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 66.79 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 26,156.16 points, with 37.224 million shares traded.

The BR Oil and Gas Index gained 107.84 points, or 0.72 percent, to settle at 15,177.07 points, with total turnover reaching 41.116 million shares.

The BR Tech. & Comm. Index advanced 15.20 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 3,373.29 points on turnover of 140.042 million shares.

Analysts said market sentiment was expected to remain volatile in the near term, with selective buying likely if geopolitical tensions continued to ease and international oil prices trended lower. They noted, however, that elevated energy prices, external-sector risks and the upcoming IMF review would remain key factors influencing market direction.