PSX surges 10,000 points following IMF loan approval, Pak-India ceasefire

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic rally, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging by 10,000 points in a single session on Monday.

Following this significant jump, the index reached an unprecedented level of 117,173 points, marking one of the largest single-day gains in the market’s history.

Due to the extraordinary surge, trading was temporarily halted for one hour as a precautionary measure, in line with standard market volatility protocols.

The market experts are saying the investors are expressing trust in the market due to recent loan tranche approval by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India after a brief military escalation.

The stock market endured a turbulent week, with the KSE-100 index plunging 6,939 points, or -6.1% week-on-week (WoW), to close near 107,000 amid rising geopolitical tensions between Pakistan and India.

Despite a partial rebound on Friday, the broader trend remained bearish.

On a day-on-day basis, the PSX witnessed a turbulent start to the week, with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing nearly flat amid rising tensions with India and State Bank’s policy uncertainty. The index dipped steeply in early trading, falling 1,036 points. At close, the KSE-100 recorded a decline of just 11.70 points and settled at 114,102.

On Tuesday, the bourse closed lower as investor optimism over the State Bank’s 100bps rate cut quickly gave way to concerns over escalating Pakistan-India tensions and Moody’s warning about economic stability. The index recorded a decline of 534 points.