The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its upward momentum on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining more than 1,100 points by midday as investors responded positively to signs of diplomatic movement towards ending the US-Iran conflict.
By 12:48pm, the index had climbed 1,174.46 points, or 0.69%, to 172,576.54. It had opened higher and was already up 787.31 points at 172,189.39 by 9:33am.
Investor confidence was supported by diplomatic activity surrounding the UN General Assembly in New York, where US and Iranian delegations held indirect discussions through mediators on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump also described talks involving his envoys as productive and indicated there was momentum towards an agreement, adding to market expectations of a possible diplomatic resolution.
Buying was spread across several major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies and refineries.
During the session, the KSE-100 reached an intraday high of 172,762.41, while its lowest level stood at 171,843.50.
Lower international oil prices provided additional support to sentiment. Investors were assessing an improvement in Gulf energy supplies following Saudi Arabia’s restart of operations at a critical pipeline, while renewed hopes of a US-Iran diplomatic settlement eased concerns about prolonged disruptions to regional energy flows.
By midday, approximately 90.66 million shares had changed hands, with traded value reaching around Rs6.31 billion.