Stocks record highest single-day surge of 10,123 points as geopolitical tensions ease

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed the highest single-day surge of 10,123 points on Monday following a surprise ceasefire between Pakistan and India, which invited investors for aggressive buying.

The stock market halted for an hour, within 5 minutes of its opening, as the Index opened at 9.26 per cent positive. According to the exchange rule, trading will halt for an hour if KSE30 moves 5.0 per cent in either direction and remains in that territory for five consecutive minutes.

The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 10,123.09 points, or 9.45 per cent, to 117,297.73 points, up from 107,174.64 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 117,327.78 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 115,794.37 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Ltd said the PSX witnessed a historic surge, led by broad-based gains across multiple scrips, following a surprise ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India. Market sentiment was further lifted by US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate the Kashmir issue and significantly enhance trade ties in the region.

A global rally in equities and rising crude oil prices, spurred by the US-China trade agreement, also contributed to the bullish momentum. Locally, the Pakistani rupee remained stable following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of disbursements under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The State Bank of Pakistan’s policy rate cut acted as a key catalyst, culminating in a record bullish close at the PSX.

The KSE-30 index increased by 3,190.71 points or 9.77 per cent to 35,838.8 points from 32,648.1 points.

Traded shares rose by 212 million shares to 732.877 million shares from 516.295 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs30.382 billion from Rs28.841 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs14.016 trillion against Rs12.893 trillion. Of the 462 companies active in the session, 405 closed in green, 26 in red, and 31 remained unchanged.

According to a Topline Securities’ report, the Pakistan market witnessed a historic day on May 12, 2025 with the benchmark KSE-100 index rising by 9.45 per cent in a single day, the highest rise after 26 years.

Amidst India-Pakistan turmoil starting from the Apr 22 Pahalgam incident in held Kashmir, the market lost 12.5 per cent in subsequent 12 sessions before recovering 3.5 per cent on May 9, 2025.

The abovementioned geopolitical tensions also clouded various positive developments of the Pakistan market and economy including the all-time low inflation reading of April 2025 at 0.3 per cent YoY; Pakistan’s first review of the EFF; and a surprise cut of 100bps in policy rate to 11 per cent by central bank of Pakistan.

“According to our channel checks, local individual investors who had been net sellers in the recent past were aggressive buyers during the session directly and through local mutual funds,” it stated.

The highest increase was recorded in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which rose by Rs904.44 to Rs22,877.32 per share, followed by PIA Holding Company Limited B, which increased by Rs773.52 to Rs8,508.75 per share. A significant decline was noted in Premium Textile Mills Limited, which fell by Rs9.89 to Rs390.11 per share; Sapphire Textile Mills Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs9.43 to Rs1,067.27 per share.

K-Electric Ltd remained the volume leader with 114.646 million shares, which closed higher by 55 paisas to Rs4.56 per share. At-Tahur Ltd., with 75.910 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by Rs1.44 to Rs44.01 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, Power Cement, Cnergyico PK, BO Punjab, Kohinoor Spinning, Hub Power Co, Pak Int Bulk, and Pace (Pak) Ltd.

In the futures market, 318 companies recorded trading, 314 of which increased, one decreased and 3 remained unchanged.