Pakistan’s stock market rallied sharply on Wednesday as investors reacted to hopes of a de-escalation in the ongoing Iran-US conflict, with the KSE-100 Index jumping nearly 7,500 points in a single session.
At 12:05 p.m., the benchmark index was at 156,204.89, up 7,461.58 points, or 5.02% from the previous close. The sharp gains triggered a market halt, suspending all equity-based trading in line with Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) regulations.
“Due to a 5% increase in the KSE-30 Index from the previous trading day’s close, a Market Halt has been triggered,” the PSX said in a notice. Trading is scheduled to resume at 1:08 p.m.
Buying momentum was broad-based, with strong activity in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, and power generation companies.
Major index-heavy stocks including HBL, MCB, MEBL, UBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, HUBCO, and ARL traded firmly in the green, reflecting renewed investor confidence amid easing geopolitical tensions.
The surge underscores the sensitivity of Pakistani equities to regional developments, particularly in energy markets, which heavily influence both investor sentiment and sector performance.
