The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surge on Monday marked a historic rebound, with the KSE-100 index soaring over nine per cent following a weekend ceasefire between Pakistan and India that restored calm to regional markets.
Following days of escalating tensions and retaliatory strikes between the nuclear-armed neighbors, the ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump on Saturday, brought immediate relief to investors.
At 9:30am, the KSE-100 index posted a massive Pakistan Stock Exchange surge, climbing by 9,929.48 points, or 9.26pc, reaching 117,104.11 points from the prior close of 107,174.63. Due to the rapid gains, the PSX enforced a one-hour trading suspension to control market volatility.
Yousuf M. Farooq, research director at Chase Securities, commented that the market’s jubilant reaction stemmed from Pakistan’s establishment of “effective deterrence against India.” He added that the Pakistan Stock Exchange surge was also a symbolic “salute” to the Pakistan Air Force for their swift response during the conflict.
Further bolstering investor sentiment was the State Bank’s recent interest rate cut and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval of a $1 billion disbursement to Pakistan, Farooq highlighted.
Looking ahead, Farooq predicted that investor attention would now pivot towards the upcoming federal budget, set to be announced on June 2, which could further influence market direction.
Meanwhile, Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company Ltd, attributed the strong market performance to three factors: the ceasefire, the IMF tranche approval, and President Trump’s announcement to enhance trade relations with Pakistan.
Trump, after playing a role in mediating the ceasefire, expressed a willingness to assist in resolving the Kashmir dispute and committed to “substantially” increasing trade with both Pakistan and India—moves that injected fresh optimism into the PSX.
