PSX rebounds sharply, KSE-100 gains over 5,000 points

After a historic sell-off a day earlier, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed renewed buying on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index jumping more than 5,000 points.

According to the PSX website, the market opened on a bullish note, and the KSE-100 index gained over 4,000 points within minutes of the opening bell, recovering part of the over 16,000-point drop recorded a day earlier.  However, the session turned volatile later in the day, with the index swinging sharply and falling to an intraday low of 151,258.85, reflecting continued nervousness among investors due to uncertainty stemming from the evolving situation in the Middle East.

The index settled at 157,132.09, up 5,159.10 points, or 3.39 percent, from the previous close after hitting a record intraday high of 158,217.01.

Buying activity was seen across major sectors, particularly in oil & gas exploration companies, real estate investment trust and refinery stocks. Heavyweight stocks, including Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Oilfields Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Hub Power Company, MCB Bank Limited, Meezan Bank Limited and National Bank of Pakistan, remained in positive territory.

Read This: Panic selling or planned panic? PSX plunges 9.57% in unprecedented 16,000-points single-day slide

This rebound follows a steep decline on Monday, when trading was halted after the benchmark index plunged more than 9% under PSX regulations. The KSE-100 Index closed at 151,972.99, down 16,089.17 points, or 9.57% from the previous session.

The sharp drop was linked to escalating regional tensions following joint US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory actions, including attacks targeting US military installations in Gulf countries.

Globally, stocks resumed their ​selloff and the dollar strengthened in early Asian trading on Tuesday as investors considered the implications ‌of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1% to extend losses for a second day, led by a 2.5% tumble in Korean shares, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slumped 0.8%. S&P 500 ​e-mini futures were down 0.2%.

Stocks on ​Wall Street stabilised after a volatile session, which saw the S&P 500 rally from an early selloff to close ​flat and the Nasdaq Composite climb 0.4%, as investors bought the dip in markets after the conflict in the Middle East spilled over into Lebanon.

Brent crude futures rose for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, reaching $78.83 per barrel, up $1.10 or 1.4% by 0107 GMT. On Monday, Brent had surged to as high as $82.37 per barrel, its highest level since January 2025, before settling 6.7% higher.