The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the new trading week on a positive trajectory, with improved market sentiment and stable macroeconomic indicators driving strong early gains. During Monday’s opening session, the benchmark KSE-100 Index jumped by more than 1,200 points.
By morning, the index had risen 1,209.09 points (0.76%) to reach 160,801.99 points.
Strong buying activity was observed across major sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil & gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refineries. Key stocks such as ARL, PSO, Mari, OGDC, POL, PPL, Hubco, HCAR, DGKC, MEBL, and NBP were all trading in the green.
Pakistan recently reported a first-quarter budget surplus of Rs. 2.1 trillion, equivalent to 1.6% of GDP, according to a Ministry of Finance document—further strengthening investor confidence.
Last week, however, the stock market had remained subdued due to ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and weak economic signals, which weighed on investor sentiment. The KSE-100 had closed the week with a decline of 2,038 points (1.3%), settling at 159,592.91 points.
Global Markets Also Rebound
Global equities advanced on Monday amid growing optimism that the U.S. government’s historic shutdown may soon end, while the dollar remained steady after last week’s losses.
The U.S. Senate made progress on legislation aimed at reopening the federal government and ending the 40-day shutdown, which had halted federal services, delayed food assistance programs, and disrupted air travel.
This development pushed Nasdaq futures up by 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.7%.
European markets also opened higher, with Euro Stoxx 50 and DAX futures rising over 1%, and FTSE futures up 0.85%.
In Asia, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index (excluding Japan) increased by 1%, and Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.97%. Meanwhile, China’s CSI 300 blue-chip index edged down 0.24%, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6%.
