The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong recovery on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing 982.10 points higher as investors responded positively to encouraging economic indicators despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The market opened on a bullish note, gaining more than 1,700 points in early trading before climbing to an intraday high of 183,477.57 points. By the close of trading, the KSE-100 Index settled at 182,241.77, marking an increase of 982.10 points, or 0.54 percent, from the previous session.
Investor confidence was supported by record workers’ remittances, which reached $41.6 billion during FY2025-26, reflecting an 8.6 percent increase compared to the previous fiscal year. Market sentiment also improved after weekly inflation eased by 0.45 percent for the week ending July 9.
Broad-based buying was witnessed across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing firms, and power generation companies.
Investors also kept a close watch on ongoing trade talks between Pakistan and the United States in Washington, where discussions are focused on tariff relief and a broader bilateral trade agreement.
Despite the positive domestic data, international financial institutions maintained a cautious outlook. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained Pakistan’s economic growth forecast at 3.5 percent for the current fiscal year, while warning that renewed conflict in the Middle East could disrupt global supply chains and increase commodity prices.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered Pakistan’s FY2027 growth forecast to 3.7 percent and raised its inflation projections, citing higher food and fuel prices along with global energy market uncertainty.
Friday’s gains followed a volatile trading session a day earlier, when the market ended lower after recovering from sharp intraday losses.
