KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced an early surge in buying activity on Friday as tensions between Iran and Pakistan subsided.
The benchmark KSE-100 witnessed a gain of over 700 points during the initial hours of the trading session.
However, by 10:55am, the benchmark index retraced slightly to 63,628.32, reflecting an increase of 425.92 points or 0.67%. It had earlier reached an intra-day high of 63,911.85.
A widespread buying trend was observed across various sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, cement, chemical, oil and gas exploration firms, OMCs, and refineries—all trading in positive territory.
Experts linked the surge in buying to the easing of cross-border tensions between Iran and Pakistan. Additionally, positive sentiment was bolstered by the prospects of resolving the circular debt issue, as noted by Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company Limited.
Reports indicated that the caretaker minister had devised an innovative plan to address the circular debt in the energy sector. This plan, shared with caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, focuses on public sector companies exclusively, aiming for budget neutrality and zero leakage, with a total settlement of Rs 1.268 trillion.
On the previous day, escalating regional tensions had impacted investor sentiment, causing the benchmark KSE-100 index to incur losses and settle at 63,202.40, reflecting a decrease of 364.93 points or 0.57%.
