Pakistan’s stock market extended its winning streak on Thursday, with investors continuing to pile into equities after the benchmark index closed at a record high in the previous session.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained firmly in positive territory throughout the first half of trading as buying interest spread across major sectors.
By 12:23pm, the index had climbed 1,749.47 points, or 0.95 percent, to 185,799.57. Earlier in the session, it touched an intraday high of 185,890.52 after gaining more than 1,840 points. Trading volume had reached 257.49 million shares by midday, reflecting strong investor participation.
The market traded within a range of 184,840.56 to 185,890.52 during the session. Compared with a year ago, the benchmark index has risen 42.55 percent and is up 6.75 percent since the start of 2026.
Buying was concentrated in heavyweight sectors including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and power generation. Several index-heavy stocks traded higher, including HUBCO, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MEBL and UBL, helping lift the broader market.
Among the most actively traded stocks were TPL Properties, Bank of Punjab, Blue-Ex, Cnergyico, TPL REIT Fund I, Beco Steel, TPL Corp, Maple Leaf Cement, Dewan Cement and WorldCall Telecom.
Several companies also hit the upper trading limit during the session. Shares of First Fidelity Leasing Modaraba, Artistic Denim Mills, Rupali Polyester, S.G. Power, Olympia Mills, Ibrahim Fibres, Arif Habib Modaraba, Asthma Textile Mills, Security Papers and Sazgar Engineering posted gains of around 10 percent. On the losing side, Husein Industries, Data Modul, Jauharabad Textile Mills and a handful of other stocks came under selling pressure.
Thursday’s rally follows Wednesday’s powerful surge, when the KSE-100 Index jumped 3,748.40 points, or 2.08 percent, to close at a record 184,050.10. Investor sentiment was lifted by easing inflation expectations, lower global oil prices and growing optimism that the State Bank of Pakistan could reduce interest rates in the near future.
Overseas, however, market sentiment was weaker. Asian shares declined as investors booked profits in technology stocks after a strong quarter and shifted focus to upcoming US jobs data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
Oil prices also remained under pressure, with Brent crude slipping to around $71 a barrel after comments from US President Donald Trump suggested talks with Iran had progressed positively, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued to improve. Lower oil prices are generally viewed as supportive for Pakistan’s economy by easing pressure on the country’s import bill and inflation outlook.
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