PSX Surges 2,800 Points as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify to De-escalate Tensions with India

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a turnaround on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 2,700 points. At close, the KSE-100 Index was up 2,787 points (or 2.44 percent) to close at 114,113 points. The positive sentiment was driven by increased diplomatic activity aimed at calming tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Stocks were down by over 3,500 points on the last trading day over fears of potential Indian military action against Pakistan. On Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also asked Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait to help urge India to ease tensions with Pakistan. The prime minister briefed ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait on Pakistan’s view of recent developments after the Pahalgam incident. Brokerage house Topline Securities attributed the recovery to statements by US Administration indicating that they are working to ensure that tensions between India and Pakistan don’t escalate into a broader regional conflict. Top positive contribution to the index came from UBL, EFERT, HUBC, LUCK, MEBL and HBL, as they cumulatively contributed +1,238 points to the index, Topline noted. A total of 372,363,708 shares were traded during the day as compared to 490,948,134 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs. 23.285 billion against Rs. 31.124 billion on the last trading day. As many as 445 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 311 of them recorded gains and 63 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 51 companies remained unchanged.