KARACHI– Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed massive gains in opening session on Wednesday after the US-Iran ceasefire sparked a relief rally and lifted confidence of investors.
As the market opened, the KSE-100 index gained 12,920 points to climb to 164,594 points compared to previous close of 151,673.46 points.
Following the massive bullish trend, trading activity has been suspended for one hour.
Experts have primarily attributed to the buying rally to the ceasefire that has created hopes for safe passage of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, US President Donald J. Trump has announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, saying the decision follows discussions with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
In a statement, President Trump said he agreed to halt imminent military action after being requested “to hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran,” while also linking the pause to specific conditions involving Tehran.
Later, Iran stated it would ensure safe navigation through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz for a two-week period, using the interval to conduct talks with the United States aimed at ending the conflict, beginning Friday in Islamabad.
A day earlier, the benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed a bullish trend on Tuesday, gaining 465.64 points, a positive change of 0.31 percent, closing at 151,673.46 points against 151,207.82 points on the last trading day, according to PSX data.
During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 357.269 million shares with a traded value of Rs 20.436 billion, compared to 457.211 million shares valuing Rs 30.876 billion in the previous session.
The market capitalization increased to Rs 16.855 trillion from Rs 16.822 trillion a day earlier.
Out of 477 active companies in the ready market, 223 advanced, 188 declined, and 66 remained unchanged.
