PSX stages dramatic rebound, surges 5,433 points
Photo: File
Following a volatile week dominated by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) delivered a robust rebound on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by over 5,430 points to close at 161,210, marking one of the strongest single-day gains in recent sessions.
The market had witnessed a historic sell-off, with a record plunge of over 16,000 points on March 2, followed by partial rebounds and dips in recent days.
On Thursday, PSX saw a sharp recovery, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 5,433 points (+3.49%) to close at 161,211.
"The recovery was driven by broad-based buying across major sectors, signalling an improvement in investor sentiment following recent volatility," noted Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.
Read: PSX sheds 1,355 points amid geopolitical jitters
Strong institutional interest was observed in oil & gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation, cement, automobile, refinery, and banking sectors, with several index-heavy stocks trading firmly in positive territory.
On the sectoral front, gas production declined 0.1% week-on-week to 2,687 mmcfd in the fourth week of February 2026, while oil production fell 2.9% week-on-week to 59,103 bopd during the same period. The decline was primarily attributed to curtailments in northern fields and relatively weaker demand from the power sector.
Major contributors to the index performance included HUBC, OGDC, FFC, ENGROH, MEBL, PPL, HBL, PSO, MARI, and SYS, which collectively added 3,334 points to the benchmark.
Read More: PSX plunges 1,350 points on geopolitical tensions
Market participation remained robust, with total traded volume reaching 718.6 million shares and turnover amounting to PKR 35 billion. KEL led the volume chart, with 115.6 million shares traded during the session.
As the market heads into the final trading session of the week, it will be interesting to observe whether this positive momentum sustains or if investors adopt a cautious stance following the recent recovery.