Pakistan stocks close in green after UN urges Pakistan, India to exercise restraint

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed in the green on Friday, gaining 449.53 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 115,496.34.

The session remained range-bound for most of the day due to heightened geopolitical tensions along the Pakistan-India border. However, a recovery was observed in the latter half, helping the benchmark index close higher, Topline Securities Research said.

“Stocks turned bullish after the UN urged Pakistan and India to exercise maximum restraint and resolve the issue through mutual engagement,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, told *Hum News English*.

Mehanti added that strong corporate earnings, surging global equities, expectations of monetary easing by the State Bank, and the anticipated release of the next IMF tranche also contributed to the bullish close.

Despite the UN’s appeal, reports suggest that both nuclear-armed neighbours continue to amass troops along the border.

“Stronger-than-expected results from Habib Bank and National Bank, coupled with investor interest in FFC due to anticipated dividend payouts, drove a sharp rebound, ending the session in the green,” said Muhammad Awais Ashraf, Director Research at AKD Securities.

Ashraf noted that investors remained wary of the escalating regional tensions.

Also read: Sindh govt to fix prices of branded items sold at supermarkets

Top positive contributions to the index came from HBL, FFC, MEBL, MCB, and NBP, which collectively added 570 points.

“The benchmark index closed in the positive zone, although the session remained volatile due to result season-driven fluctuations. Investors navigated mixed earnings reports, contributing to choppy market movement,” Ismail Iqbal Securities said in a note.

In terms of traded value, PSO (Rs1.83 billion), SNGPL (Rs1.59 billion), MARI (Rs1.40 billion), NBP (Rs998 million), and HBL (Rs990 million) dominated the charts. 

Total traded volume stood at 467 million shares, with a traded value of Rs27.3 billion.

Key March quarter results announced during the session included: NBP reported consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of Rs10.29 for 1Q2025 — down 2.37 per cent QoQ but up 126 per cent YoY. 

HBL reported consolidated EPS of Rs11.32 for 1Q2025 — up 15.3 per cent QoQ and 9.2 per cent YoY — along with an interim cash dividend of Rs4.5 per share.