PSX starts week with strong rebound as KSE-100 climbs over 10,000 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) roared to life on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index soaring by nearly 9,930 points in early trade — one of the largest single-session gains in its history — as investor sentiment surged on the back of easing regional tensions and fresh financial inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Trading was briefly halted after a sharp spike triggered market-wide circuit breakers. By 9:30 AM, the KSE-100 had surged 8.8 per cent to 117,104.11 points, with over 26 million shares traded. The rally was powerful enough to activate PSX’s automatic halt mechanism, which kicks in when the KSE-30 Index rises by more than 5 per cent from the previous close.

PSX confirmed the suspension in a market notice, saying, “Due to a 5 per cent increase in the KSE-30 Index from the previous trading day’s close, a market halt has been triggered as per PSX regulations, and all equity and equity-based markets have been suspended accordingly.”

The PSX website also briefly went offline during the volatility, displaying a message stating it was “under maintenance until further notice.”

The dramatic surge comes after a weekend announcement of a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, significantly reducing geopolitical risk in the region. The market was further buoyed by news that the IMF had approved the disbursement of approximately $1 billion to Pakistan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and granted an additional $1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), providing a crucial financial cushion to the struggling economy.

Trading resumed around 11:00 AM, with the market maintaining strong momentum. The KSE-100 Index remained in positive territory, up 8.15 per cent or 8,736.71 points, with volumes crossing 112 million shares.

Around midday, reports emerged that celebrations were under way at the Pakistani stock market following record trading activity. A cake-cutting ceremony was held at the Exchange to mark the occasion.

By 2:43 PM, the stock market had gained over 10,133 points, reaching 117,308.5, with the trading volume standing at 313,745,931 shares.

Last week, the market had shown signs of volatility, falling 6 per cent on Thursday before bouncing back with a 3.52 per cent gain on Friday, closing at 107,174.63 points. Analysts said that Friday’s rebound was partly due to investors pricing in the likelihood of de-escalation on the eastern border, which has now materialised with the ceasefire deal.

Market participants say the twin tailwinds of geopolitical stability and fresh IMF funding could help sustain the rally in the near term, although some caution that volatility may return as investors reassess valuations after such a sharp move.

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