KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a strong rebound on Friday after suffering a historic decline of 6,500 points the previous day. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged nearly 4,000 points during intra-day trading, rising by 3.83% to settle at 107,492.09 points at 4:30 pm.
The bullish momentum during the early hours of trading helped push the KSE-100 to an intra-day high of 105,946.01 points. The recovery was largely driven by buying activity in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation stocks. Major index-heavy stocks like HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, and SNGPL also performed well, contributing to the rebound.
The sharp decline on Thursday, which saw the KSE-100 drop by 6% due to concerns over tensions between Pakistan and India, was reversed as there was no significant news of escalation between the two countries. This relative calm restored investor confidence, according to market experts.
Mohammed Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, commented: “After falling sharply by 6% yesterday due to the geopolitical situation, Pakistani stocks have recovered. So far, there has been no news of any major escalation, helping restore confidence.”
Adding to the positive market sentiment was the meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board, scheduled for May 9. The board was set to review Pakistan’s performance under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program and discuss a request for an additional $1.3 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). If approved, Pakistan would gain access to $1 billion under the EFF, bringing total disbursements under the program to around $2 billion, which could further support the economy.
Despite the global market volatility, with mixed performances in major stock markets like Japan and Hong Kong, the recovery in Pakistan’s stock market was welcomed by investors as a sign of resilience amid global uncertainties.
