PSX surges over 3,600 points as buying momentum accelerates

Investors extended a sharp buying rally at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index above the 168,000-point level with a gain of more than 3,600 points.

According to the PSX website, the market opened firmly in the green, with the KSE-100 Index surging more than 3,000 points within the opening minutes of trading. The rally continued throughout the session, with the benchmark index settling at 168,514 points, up 3,683 points or 2.23%.

Strong buying activity was seen across major sectors, including apparel, automobile parts & accessories, cable & electrical goods, automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, exchange traded funds, glass & ceramics, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries.

Market participants attributed the rally to improving investor sentiment amid easing concerns over geopolitical tensions and expectations of diplomatic progress.

Investor confidence also received support from ongoing discussions between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the federal budget for fiscal year 2027, following the conclusion of a staff-level visit.

On Wednesday, the KSE-100 Index gained 1,934.74 points or 1.19% to settle at 164,831.42 points as buying interest strengthened across key sectors.

Asian stocks also surged on Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait ​of Hormuz, while forecast-beating results at Nvidia and a suspended workers' strike at Samsung Electronics lifted shares of chipmakers.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside ‌Japan climbed 2.7%, snapping a four-day streak of losses. South Korea's KOSPI leapt more than 8% and Taiwanese shares rose almost 4%. Chinese shares bucked the trend, with blue chips shedding 0.5%.

In early European trade, pan-region futures were down 0.2%, German DAX futures nudged 0.1% lower, and FTSE futures slid 0.4%.

Brent crude futures climbed 0.9% to $106 a barrel in Asia trade, retracing declines after three supertankers passed through the strait ​on Wednesday and Iran consolidated its control of the waterway. Supply concerns persisted, however, following a U.S. inventory drawdown.