Positive sentiments returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index snapping the previous session’s losing streak and closing in the green on Thursday.
The index swayed in both directions, hitting an intra-day high of 166,837.10 and an intra-day low of 165,886.26.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 166,283.55, marginally up by 138.20 points or 0.08%.
The buying came in line with “renewed buying interest and improved intraday sentiment”, brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“On the news front, confidence strengthened after the prime minister announced that the bidding process for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be broadcast live on national television on 23rd December 2025.
“This development sparked notable investor interest in PIAHCLA, which traded with healthy volumes throughout the day,” it said.
“Meanwhile, LPL from the power sector surfaced as one of the session’s most actively traded stocks, with over 108 million shares exchanging hands. The surge aligns with the company’s ongoing share buyback programme that commenced on 28th November, as disclosed in its exchange notice.”
Market sentiment remained broadly positive, supported by strong performance in key heavyweights — SRVI, PIOC, PTC, ENGROH, and PPL — which collectively added approximately 298 points to the benchmark, Topline said.
On Wednesday, PSX came under heavy pressure as a wave of institutional selling, triggered by renewed concerns over valuation fatigue and profit-taking after recent gains, pushed the market into a sharp, broad-based decline. The KSE-100 Index settled at 166,145.35 — a steep fall of 1,496.93 points.
Internationally, the US dollar hit a five-week low while Asian stocks made a lacklustre start to the trading session on Thursday, after weaker-than-expected economic data cemented expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its meeting next week.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.8%, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was trading down 0.1%, weighed down by declines in Korea and New Zealand. S&P 500 e-mini futures were little changed, as momentum from US markets overnight petered out in Asia.
Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow adding almost nine-tenths of a percent.
The gains came after US private payrolls data posted their biggest drop in more than two-and-a-half years.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee recorded marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.45, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 607.79 million from 593.08 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares decreased to Rs31.22 billion from Rs44.42 billion in the previous session.
Lalpir Power was the volume leader with 108.92 million shares, followed by PIA Holding Company with 37.83 million shares, and P.T.C.L with 34.47 million shares.
Shares of 477 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 203 registered an increase, 223 recorded a fall, and 51 remained unchanged.
