Investor sentiment strengthens as diplomatic momentum in Switzerland and easing oil prices lift regional markets
KARACHI: Buying momentum persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as signs of progress in peace talks between Iran and the United States lifted investor confidence, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index up by more than 800 points in early trading.
At 9:45am, the benchmark index stood at 179,765.33, showing a gain of 842.58 points, or 0.47 percent. Market activity remained positive across several major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and refinery stocks. Heavyweight scrips such as DGKC, MCB, MEBL, NBP, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, and HUBCO traded in the green, reflecting broad-based buying.
The rally followed encouraging diplomatic developments after the first round of talks between senior US and Iranian officials in Switzerland concluded on Monday. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said both sides had agreed on a roadmap aimed at securing a final agreement within 60 days. According to a joint statement released by Qatar’s foreign ministry, technical negotiations will continue throughout the week at the Qatari-owned Swiss resort of Buergenstock.
PSX extends last week’s strong bull run
The latest gains build on an already powerful rally recorded last week, when the PSX surged 6,522.84 points, or 3.8 percent, on a week-on-week basis to close at 178,922.75 points. Investors had responded positively to easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and business-friendly measures announced in Pakistan’s FY27 budget.
Global equities rise as oil prices ease
Meanwhile, global markets also reacted positively to the diplomatic progress. Asian equities moved higher on Monday, while Brent crude fell 0.4 percent to $80.17 a barrel after trimming earlier gains. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.9 percent, South Korea’s market gained 2.6 percent, and MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan added 1 percent.
