Buying interest returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, helping the benchmark KSE-100 Index recover from the previous session’s losses and move higher during intraday trade.
The market opened on a strong note, with investors rushing into key sectors and pushing the benchmark index up by more than 1,100 points within the first hour of trading. At around 10:16am, the KSE-100 Index had climbed 1,155.76 points to reach 171,346.40, marking the day’s highest level.
However, some profit-taking later trimmed gains. By 12:24pm, the benchmark index was trading at 170,809.26, still higher by 618.62 points, or 0.36 percent, from the previous close. During the session, the market moved within a range of 170,563.40 to 171,346.40 points.
Investor interest was visible across several major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing firms and power generation stocks. Heavyweight shares such as MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, HUBCO, MCB, MEBL and NBP remained among the key contributors to the market’s positive performance.
Trading activity remained healthy, with more than 89.9 million shares changing hands by midday. Among the most active stocks were BECO, PTC, Pak Qatar, WASL, Bank of Punjab, TPL Properties, Telecard and Cnergyico. Pak Qatar stood out among actively traded shares after posting a gain of nearly 10 percent.
On the broader market, several stocks hit strong gains. ANLNV led the advancers with a rise of more than 13 percent, while Ruby Textile Mills, ANSM Industries, IDSM and PSYL also posted gains close to 10 percent. On the losing side, STML, ARPAK and ASLPS were among the biggest decliners.
Market participants are also closely watching developments related to the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, which Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said will be presented on June 10. The delay from the previously expected date comes as discussions on certain fiscal measures continue.
Despite Thursday’s recovery, the PSX remains down 1.86 percent since the start of the year. On a yearly basis, however, the benchmark index is still up more than 40 percent, reflecting the market’s strong long-term performance despite recent volatility.
The rebound follows Wednesday’s decline, when the KSE-100 Index lost 831 points as investor sentiment weakened amid geopolitical concerns and uncertainty in international markets.
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