PSX surges over 3,100 points as buying returns despite regional tensions

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a recovery on Wednesday, with investors returning to the market a day after the benchmark index suffered one of its steepest declines, despite continued escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran and concerns over global energy supplies.

According to the PSX website, the benchmark KSE-100 Index opened firmly in positive territory and climbed as much as 3,182.56 points to an intraday high of 176,701.38, recovering nearly half of Tuesday's losses. 

The market remained in the green throughout the session.

By 2:17 pm, the KSE-100 Index was trading at 175,112.94, up 1,594.13 points, or 0.92%, from the previous close.

Buying activity was seen across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation, and refineries.

The recovery followed Tuesday's sharp sell-off, when the KSE-100 Index dropped 6,408.23 points, or 3.56%, to close at 173,518.82 points as investors reacted to worsening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns over the conflict's potential impact on global oil supplies.

The rebound came despite a worsening regional security situation, with the US military carrying out a fourth consecutive night of strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade on Iranian shipping. 

Iran threatened to disrupt additional energy routes if Washington continued efforts to control regional maritime corridors.

Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait also came under renewed attack on Wednesday after Tehran said it would continue targeting US military assets, further undermining the interim ceasefire.

Trump also repeated his warning that Iranian power plants and bridges could be targeted if Tehran did not return to negotiations aimed at ending the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Global shares steadied on Wednesday as upbeat earnings from chipmaking equipment maker ASML and gains ​in Asian semiconductor stocks recharged the AI trade, offsetting a jump in oil prices on fresh hostilities involving Iran.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ‌ index was down 0.05% by 0849 GMT after rallying the previous day when softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data cooled concerns about higher interest rates, pushing the dollar and yields lower. 

Tech-heavy markets in the United States and Asia fared better. 

Nasdaq futures rose 0.5%, while South Korea's volatile KOSPI index jumped 6.2% and Japan's Nikkei gained 1.5%. The MSCI World Price Index rose less than 0.1%.

Brent futures climbed $1.71, or 2%, to $86.44 a barrel at 0806 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures gained $1.43, or 1.8%, ​to $80.77 a barrel.