Positive sentiments returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors rejoiced after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to resume peace talks, driving the benchmark KSE-100 Index up by nearly 4,900 points on Friday.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 161,631.73, an increase of 4,898.86 points or 3.13%.
“This positivity in market was on account of news that Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime have agreed to maintain ceasefire following a fresh round of talks in Istanbul which was confirmed by Turkiye’s foreign ministry,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
Top positive contribution to the index came from UBL, MEBL, FFC, HBL, BAHL, SYS, LUCK and BAFL, as they cumulatively contributed 2,390 points to the index, it added.
“Buying interest returned as sentiments improved following news that Pakistan and the Afghan regime had agreed to extend the ceasefire in recent talks held in Istanbul,” Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, told Business Recorder earlier during the day.
“The development eased regional geopolitical concerns, boosting investor confidence and prompting a renewed wave of buying across the market. Recent corporate results had been largely lacklustre, falling short of expectations and tempering some of the optimism,” he added.
Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to resume peace talks in Istanbul on November 6 and to maintain a ceasefire until then, Turkey’s foreign ministry said late Thursday.
“All parties have agreed to continue the ceasefire. The modalities of its implementation will be examined and decided at a high-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6, 2025,” the ministry said in a statement.
Turkiye and Qatar have been jointly mediating between the two countries after they clashed along their border.
On Thursday, the PSX extended its losing streak as heavy selling pressure gripped the market, dragging the KSE-100 Index down. The benchmark index dived 1,732.19 points, or 1.09%, to close at 156,732.87 points.
Internationally, Asian shares are set for a seventh straight month of gains on Friday, after upbeat earnings from Amazon and Apple buoyed Wall Street futures and the dollar hovered near three-month highs on uncertainty over further Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Nasdaq futures jumped 1.2% and S&P 500 futures gained 0.6% as Amazon’s stellar earnings sent its shares up a staggering 13% after the bell, which added over $300 billion to its market value. Apple also rose 2.3% after its outlook on iPhone sales topped estimates.
That offset the drag from Meta and Microsoft overnight amid worries over their surging AI spending. Six of the “Magnificent Seven” U.S. tech megacaps have now reported and the results have been mixed. Nvidia, the world’s first $5 trillion company, is due to report in three weeks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2% on Friday, as gains elsewhere were offset by losses in Chinese stocks.
The index was poised for a weekly gain of 1.8% and a monthly rise of 4.7%.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 280.91, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 952.86 million from 848.30 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs42.27 billion from Rs37.61 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 98.94 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 85.82 million shares, and B.O.Punjab with 78.46 million shares.
Shares of 486 companies were traded on Friday, of which 372 registered an increase, 77 recorded a fall, and 37 remained unchanged.
