Bullish sentiment returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 650 points during early trading, buoyed by renewed investor interest across key sectors. By 10:25am, the index stood at 122,805.64, up 662.08 points or 0.54%.
Investor appetite was particularly strong in sectors such as automobile assembly, commercial banking, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing, and power generation. Major index contributors including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, FFC, UBL, and MCB were trading in positive territory.
The renewed interest follows a volatile trading week, where early optimism surrounding the fiscal year 2025–26 federal budget and expectations of monetary easing gave way to profit-taking amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Despite the turbulence, the KSE-100 Index managed to post a week-on-week gain of 502 points, closing at 122,144—an increase of 0.4%.
Last week’s rally was initially supported by the government’s Rs17.3 trillion budget, which did not impose any adverse fiscal measures on the equity market. Better-than-anticipated Capital Gains Tax provisions were welcomed by market participants, encouraging mutual funds and institutional investors to increase exposure to equities.
While geopolitical concerns remain, the early session performance suggests that investors are refocusing on domestic macroeconomic cues and corporate fundamentals to guide trading decisions.
