Stocks extended gains on Thursday as renewed hopes for a de-escalation in the Middle East boosted investor confidence, even as crude prices edged higher after a sharp decline in the previous session.
During the session, the benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed to an intraday high of 167,924.09, gaining 3,092.67 points, or 1.88 percent, and retreated to a low of 166,638.56, reflecting a gain of 1,807.14 points, or 1.10 percent, from to the previous close of 164,831.42.
“A wave of diplomatic measures aimed at ending the war created downward pressure on oil markets, and oil traded down about 6%,” said Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities.
“This marks the end of hostilities, the reopening of the strait and ultimately normalization, which has boosted investor confidence,” he added.
Asian markets also rose on Thursday, buoyed by hopes for a Middle East peace deal after Iran said it was studying a new U.S. proposal to end the war.
Japan’s Nikkei jumped more than 3.5%, while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi surged 6.8% in morning trading, with Samsung Electronics trading 5.9% higher. Taipei grew by 3.6%, Sydney by 1.6% and Singapore by 0.4%.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Wellington also gained, although Jakarta lost 1.5%.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the negotiations were on the “line” between a deal and further attacks, reinforcing cautious optimism in financial markets.
Oil fell more than 5% on Wednesday as hopes for peace gained ground, but crude prices rose slightly on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.5% to $98.75 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude rose 0.4% to $105.43 a barrel.
Domestically, the government on Wednesday raised Rs 688 billion in realized value through market treasury bill auctions, with yields rising across all tenors.
The threshold yield on one-month Treasury bills rose 86 basis points to 12.23 percent, while the three-month yield rose 41 basis points to 12.4904 percent. The six-month yield rose 15 basis points to 12.4999% and the 12-month yield rose nine basis points to 12.59%.
The government raised 702 billion rupees in nominal value through the auction against a target of 450 billion rupees and a maturity of 479 billion rupees, while the stake stood at 1.73 trillion rupees.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the KSE-100 index jumped 1,934.74 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 164,831.42 against the previous session’s close of 162,896.68.
The index touched an intraday high of 165,081.7 and a low of 162,895.74, while the KSE-30 index gained 669.37 points, or 1.37 per cent, to end at 49,356.83.
