Pakistan equity market gains as US-Iran talks progress, oil prices ease

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week in positive territory on Monday, as progress in US-Iran peace talks helped ease oil prices and improve investor sentiment.

According to the PSX website, the benchmark KSE-100 Index started the trading on a positive note and climbed more than 1,500 points to 180,507.82 during the early minutes of trading.

However, the market later pared some of its gains. By 12:00 pm, the KSE-100 was trading at 179,602.59, up 679.84 points, or 0.38%, from the previous close.

Buying was seen in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies and refineries.

The first round of talks between high-ranking U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland ended Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by ​Tehran's announcement it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.

A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and Pakistan said the ‌U.S. and Iran agreed to a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks will continue for the rest of the week in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, according to the statement, which was released by the Qatari foreign ministry.

The PSX had also recorded a strong rally in the previous week, supported by easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and investor-friendly fiscal measures announced in the FY27 budget.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 6,522.84 points, or 3.8%, week-on-week to close at 178,922.75 points, compared with 172,399.91 points a week earlier.

Separate notes by AKD Research and Arif Habib Limited said the KSE-100 was expected to remain supported in the near term by compliance with the US-Iran peace deal, progress in technical talks and favourable June 2026 corporate results.

However, the brokerage houses said geopolitical developments between the US and Iran were likely to keep trading cautious.

Globally, Asian share markets swung higher on Monday ​as Iranian negotiators said progress had been made in peace talks with the United States, helping calm fears that the process was breaking ‌down.

Officials from Qatar and Pakistan also released a statement saying the first session of talks had concluded and progress was made on a roadmap to reach a final deal in 60 days.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.8%, having climbed almost 8% last week to all-time highs. South Korea's red-hot market added 0.6%, after surging more than ​11% last week on demand for semiconductor stocks.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8%, while Chinese blue chips rose 1.6%.

S&P 500 futures pared early losses to be off 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures lost 0.2%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged down 0.2%, while DAX futures lost 0.1% and FTSE futures were little changed.

Oil prices also declined on Monday after U.S.-Iran talks concluded in ​Switzerland with Tehran saying it had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, easing worries about a supply shortage ‌in global markets.

Brent crude fell $1.68, or 2.09%, to $78.89 a barrel by 0633 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $76 a barrel, down 60 cents, ahead of the contract's expiry later on Monday. The more active August contract fell 69 cents to $75.16 a barrel.