KARACHI — The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic bull run on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index skyrocketing by more than 7,000 points during intraday trade to confidently breach the 178,000-point milestone. The market opened on a remarkably bullish note, surging 4,501.33 points to reach 175,522.53 points by 9:50 AM from the previous close of 171,021.20 points, before extending its gains to peak at an advance of 7,081.19 points by mid-afternoon. Financial analysts and web portals like Mettis Global attributed the explosive rally to a sudden easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East—specifically a pause in military strikes between the US and Iran—which immediately restored investor confidence and lowered international oil prices, with Brent crude tumbling below $90 a barrel.
According to market experts, including Awais Ashraf, Director of Research at AKD Securities, the diplomatic breathing room in the Strait of Hormuz significantly anchored market sentiment. Investors also anticipated that the temporary relief from global energy shocks would allow the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to maintain a cautious stance and hold its policy rate steady during the day’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting. This spectacular recovery follows a dismal preceding week where the KSE-100 index had shed 4,782 points (2.7%) due to war fears. Experts maintain that despite the current pause, Pakistan’s ongoing disinflationary trajectory, comfortable external account position, and contraction in money supply continue to build a strong fundamental case for monetary easing in the coming months.
