Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday staged a robust recovery from the previous day's widespread sell-off as the benchmark KSE-100 index hit an intra-day high of 116,692, with gains of 1,783 points.
The index, which closed the day at 115,532, up 623 points, was lifted by across-the-board interest in stocks amid a rebound in global equities and crude oil prices. Analysts attributed the bullish close to institutional support, fuelled by the anticipated release of second International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan tranche next month.
Further expected monetary easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the government's commitment to tackling circular debt were the other positive triggers.
Analysts highlighted that although the market showed signs of recovery, the durability of the rally would depend on global developments, specifically post-implementation of Trump's new trade tariffs on April 9.
According to Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp, Pakistan's stocks staged recovery on the back of across-the-board activity amid a rebound in global equities and crude oil prices as investors eyed negotiations on Trump's tariff levies.
He added that institutional support, driven by the anticipated release of IMF's tranche next month, alongside potential SBP policy easing and the government's resolve to address the Rs1.5 trillion worth of circular debt, played the role of catalyst in bullish close at the PSX.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 622.95 points, or 0.54%, and settled at 115,532.43.
In its market review, Topline Securities commented that KSE-100 saw a day of recovery, in line with global trends. The positive momentum was mainly driven by strong performances from Lucky Cement, Mari Petroleum, Meezan Bank, Bank AL Habib and Bank Alfalah, which contributed 688 points to the index, it said.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) commented that while retracing Monday's sharp decline, the KSE-100 rallied up to 116,700 before closing at 115,532, up 0.54%.
Some 72 shares rose while 23 fell with Lucky Cement (+6.65%), Mari Petroleum (+5.05%) and Meezan Bank (+1.46%) contributing the most to index gains. On the flip side, United Bank (-3.52%), Engro Fertilisers (-1.97%) and Systems Limited (-2.15%) were the biggest index drags, it noted.
AHL added that National Resources, a joint venture between Lucky Cement and Fatima Fertiliser with 33.33% shareholding each, made a significant copper, gold and silver discovery in Chagai, Balochistan.
"Monday gap" remains the main obstacle to KSE-100, below which near-term bias is to the downside, it said.
Ali Najib from Insight Securities remarked that post-Monday sell-off, the PSX exhibited some signs of recovery. The KSE-100 commenced the day on a positive note with an enormous gain of 1,100 points. The strong momentum continued until the market reached the intra-day high at 116,692, translating into a rise of 1,783 points, he said.
However, "yesterday's brave value hunters became profit takers today as they started to trim their positions at high levels". It weighed on bullish sentiment and ultimately led the index to shed some earlier gains and called the day at 115,532, Najib said.
He added that after witnessing market action, one would ask whether it was a "genuine recovery" or was a "dead cat bounce". "To know the answer to this question, we need to wait and keep an eye on market behaviour post-April 9, the day when new trade tariffs will be implemented globally, and observe their repercussions."
Overall trading volumes decreased to 530.7 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 710.8 million. Shares of 454 companies were traded. Of these, 273 stocks closed higher, 127 fell and 54 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded was Rs33.7 billion.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with trading in 121.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.57 to close at Rs8.4. It was followed by Bank Alfalah with 32.6 million shares, gaining Rs1.87 to close at Rs75.3 and K-Electric with 19.04 million shares, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs4.28.
During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs1.7 billion, the National Clearing Company reported.
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