The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its winning streak on Thursday, with investors continuing to buy shares after the previous session’s strong rebound pushed the benchmark KSE-100 Index back above the 180,000-point mark.
The market got off to a flying start, with the KSE-100 jumping 1,672.26 points within the opening minutes to touch an intraday high of 181,687.19 at around 9:51am. Trading activity was brisk, with more than 39 million shares changing hands at that stage.
Some of the early gains faded as the session progressed. By 12:20pm, the benchmark index was trading at 180,754.26, still higher by 739.33 points, or 0.41 percent, from Wednesday’s close of 180,014.93. Market volume had risen to more than 142.2 million shares.
So far during the session, the KSE-100 has moved between an intraday low of 180,686.36 and a high of 181,687.19. The index remains up 3.85 percent since the start of the year and has gained 24.58 percent over the past 12 months. Its 52-week range stands between 143,409.60 and 191,032.73.
Buying interest was visible across several heavyweight sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies and power generation. Major index contributors such as ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, MCB, MEBL and NBP traded in positive territory.
Among actively traded stocks, Bank of Punjab, Unity Foods, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, Pace Pakistan and Maple Leaf Cement attracted investor interest, while TOMCL stood out with a gain of more than 8 percent. On the advancers’ list, ANLNV, ASTM, JATM, BUXL and EWIC posted strong gains, whereas MACFL, ARMG, PPVC, JSIL and ANTM were among the biggest losers.
The positive mood follows Wednesday’s sharp rally, when the KSE-100 surged 2,931.71 points, or 1.66 percent, to close at 180,014.93 as easing Middle East tensions and lower global oil prices encouraged broad-based buying.
Despite the local market’s strength, Asian equities traded lower on Thursday as investors paused after the previous day’s AI-led rally. Oil prices also remained range-bound as markets weighed the prospects of a possible Iran peace agreement.