PSX Surges Over 1,100 Points on US-Iran Peace Hopes
KARACHI, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: The Pakistan Stock Exchange rallied sharply on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining more than 1,100 points intraday, as renewed hopes of progress in US-Iran diplomacy and easing global oil prices improved investor sentiment.
At around 1:02pm, official PSX data showed the KSE-100 at 172,560.91 points, up 1,158.83 points, or 0.68%, from the previous close. The Express Tribune reported the index had earlier jumped about 1,174 points during the session.
The buying was broad-based. At 1:02pm, the KSE-30 was up 378.86 points, or 0.74%, while the KMI-30 had gained 2,159.22 points, or 0.88%, according to official PSX data.
Earlier official market data also showed substantially more advancing stocks than declining ones. At 10:40am, 334 securities had advanced, 114 declined and 123 remained unchanged, while market volume stood at more than 197 million shares at that point in the session.
The rally followed fresh diplomatic signals surrounding the US-Iran conflict. US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were continuing and expressed confidence that a settlement could eventually be reached, although he reiterated Washington’s opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
Iran has separately indicated that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran’s delegation attending the UN General Assembly in New York had authority to pursue diplomatic negotiations.
Those developments have also influenced global energy markets. Expectations of renewed diplomacy, combined with recovering Saudi oil flows, have pushed crude prices lower and reduced some of the immediate concerns surrounding energy supplies.
Lower international oil prices can be significant for Pakistan because the country is a major energy importer. Sustained declines can reduce pressure on the import bill and inflation, although the eventual domestic impact depends on exchange rates, international refined-product prices, taxation and government pricing decisions.
The Express Tribune attributed Wednesday’s PSX advance to broad-based buying following Trump’s UN General Assembly remarks, alongside easing oil prices and reduced supply concerns.
However, investors continue to face considerable geopolitical uncertainty. Reuters reported that diplomatic signals from Tehran have been accompanied by continuing disagreements over sanctions, military pressure and Iran’s nuclear programme, meaning that expectations of a settlement remain uncertain.
Wednesday’s advance follows significant volatility at the PSX in recent weeks as investors react to developments in the Middle East, crude oil prices and Pakistan’s domestic economic outlook.
Because the market was still open when these figures were verified, the 1,100-plus-point rise represents an intraday movement rather than Wednesday’s final closing gain.
