The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong recovery on Monday, with investors returning to the market after days of heavy selling, as easing oil prices, expectations of a steady interest rate and upbeat corporate earnings lifted sentiment.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged 5,531.98 points, or 3.23 percent, to 176,553.18 by 1:19pm. Trading activity remained strong, with more than 237.6 million shares changing hands.
Earlier in the session, the index was up 5,211.35 points, or 3.05 percent, at 176,232.55 around 12:04pm. It extended those gains to 176,527 by about 1:22pm, rising more than 5,500 points as buying momentum strengthened.
During the session, the benchmark touched an intraday high of 176,553.18 and a low of 175,153.16. The index had ended last week at 171,021.20 after a difficult run for equities.
Despite the recent volatility, the PSX remains up 26.83 percent over the past year and has gained 1.44 percent since the start of 2026. Over the last 52 weeks, the KSE-100 has traded between 137,636.37 and 191,032.73.
Buying was seen across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies and power generation. Heavyweight stocks such as OGDC, PPL, POL, Mari Energies, PSO, HUBCO, Attock Refinery, HBL, MCB and MCB Islamic Bank traded firmly in positive territory, providing strong support to the benchmark index.
Market participants said several factors were driving the rebound. International oil prices have fallen by around 4 percent to 5 percent, easing concerns over inflation and import costs. Institutional investors also returned as buyers after last week’s sell-off, while investors widely expect the State Bank of Pakistan to leave the policy rate unchanged in its monetary policy announcement later on Monday. The ongoing corporate earnings season has also helped improve confidence.
Among the most actively traded stocks, Cnergyico, K-Electric, TPL Properties, WorldCall Telecom, Trust Securities & Brokerage, TPL Corp, Bank of Punjab, Gharibwal Cement and Pakistan Refinery all recorded gains. MDTL was the only stock among the day’s most active counters trading slightly lower.
The list of top gainers was led by ANLNV, followed by UCAPM, Waves, FIBLM, CJPL, CCM, FTSM, SERT, OBOY and ASLPS, with most of these stocks advancing around 10 percent.
On the losing side, OML and TPL Insurance each fell 10 percent, while ASLCPS, ASIC, AHTM, TICL, GEMMEL, SLYT, DIIL and PECO also posted notable declines.
The market’s rebound follows a weak performance last week, when the KSE-100 Index lost 4,781.60 points, or 2.7 percent, to settle at 171,021.20. Investor sentiment had been hit by rising tensions in the Middle East after Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade in the Red Sea, pushing Brent crude above US$100 per barrel for the first time in nearly two months and triggering broad-based selling.
Global markets also opened the week on a firmer note after signs of a pause in Gulf hostilities eased fears over energy supplies. Brent crude dropped more than 5 percent to around US$91.73 per barrel after Iran signalled it would suspend attacks as long as the United States did the same.
The sharp fall in oil prices reduced inflation concerns and improved risk appetite across financial markets, although renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities kept geopolitical risks in focus.
Read next: PSX tops 182,000 mark as investors extend buying spree
