Market rebounds 5,000 points in volatile trade
Pakistan’s benchmark stock index, the KSE-100, closed in the green, up 5,159.10 points to 157,132.09 points on Tuesday, following the largest single-session decline in the bourse’s history on Monday.
This 3.39 per cent increase marks a significant rebound from yesterday’s drop of more than 16,000 points.
This upward momentum followed early volatility, with the benchmark slipping 700 points into the red at 9:16am.
Topline Securities noted that market participation also improved, with total traded volume reaching 770 million shares and turnover clocking in at Rs 44.3 billion. However, the index continued to reflect the volatility seen in the previous session, swinging between an intraday low of 151,258.85 points and a high of 158,217.01.
The most actively traded stocks were led by K-Electric Limited, which climbed 8.81pc to Rs7.29 on a volume of 74,401,539 shares. It was followed by Worldcall Telecom Limited, up 8.04pc to Rs1.21 with 50,045,665 shares traded, while Pak Elektron Limited declined 9.04pc to Rs39.33 on a volume of 38,234,339 shares.
The assassination of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in airstrikes by the United States and Israel has destabilised the Middle East, triggered a rout in global equity markets, and fuelled a surge in oil and gas prices.
The developments have heightened fears of supply disruptions as Tehran retaliates.
However, according to Topline Securities, investors reassessed the situation and grew confident that geopolitical tensions are unlikely to prolong; “the mood shifted from fear to opportunity”.