KSE-100 soars 3,600 points as bulls dominate on geopolitical calm

Market closes at 185,099 points on strong oil and gas stock buying

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed on a strong bullish note on Friday with the KSE-100 Index settling at 185,099, up 3,643 points as geopolitical calm fuelled market momentum.

"Market momentum strengthened as geopolitical uncertainty eased following the US President’s statement indicating reduced chances of escalation in the Middle East, prompting across-the-board buying," said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.

On the macro front, petrol and high-speed diesel prices remained unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre, respectively, as lower ex-refinery prices were offset by higher petroleum levies, while the Inland Freight Equalisdation Margin edged down slightly. Oil marketing company margins stayed flat at Rs7.87 per litre, with prices effective from 16–31 Jan 2026.

Additionally, output of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries grew 10.4% in Nov’25. The Sensitive Price Indicator for the week ended on Thursday rose 3.87% and 0.25% yearly and weekly basis respectively.

OGDC, PPL, HUBC, ENGROH, and FFC led index gains, contributing 1,389 points. Market participation remained healthy, with volumes crossing 956 million shares and turnover Rs69 billion. AHCL topped the volume chart with 72.9m shares traded.

The PSX experienced a week of consolidation, as the KSE-100 Index posted a modest gain of 689 points. The index opened the week at 180,045, touched an intraday high of 185,209, and recorded a low of 180,590 before ultimately settling at 185,099.

Going forward, the market may retest 187,905 (an all-time high) next week, provided geopolitical calm persists.