The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong recovery on Friday as investors returned to the market after several sessions of selling pressure, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index up by more than 1,500 points during intraday trading.
Trading opened on a bullish note, with the benchmark index gaining nearly 1,200 points within the first few minutes of the session.
The rally continued throughout the day, with the KSE-100 reaching an intraday high of 177,108.66 points, up 1,530 points from the previous close.
Buying interest was witnessed across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refineries.
By 3:20 pm, the index was trading at 176,281.42 points, showing a gain of 733.44 points (0.42%) over Thursday’s close.
The rebound followed Thursday’s cautious trading session, when the KSE-100 fell 495 points (0.28%) to close at 175,547.98 points as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding diplomatic engagements between the United States and Iran over regional stability.
Global markets also remained positive on Friday after strong earnings from major U.S. technology companies eased concerns over artificial intelligence investments.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI posted a sharp recovery after heavy losses earlier in the week, while Europe’s STOXX 600 Index reached a record high and was on track for a fourth consecutive month of gains.
Oil prices were largely steady, with Brent crude trading at $89.50 per barrel, up 0.53%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged up to $83.63 per barrel as investors monitored global supply conditions and developments in U.S.-Iran talks.
