Pakistan's stock market extended its blistering rebound on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining another 5,000 points intraday after a nearly similar rally a day earlier, taking the two-day surge to around 10,000 points.
At 15:50 hours local time, the KSE-100 was trading at 168,675.64, up 3,040.79 points or 1.84%. Earlier in the session, the index touched an intraday high of 170,640.27, gaining 5,005.43 points or 3.02%.
The sharp move comes as investor sentiment improved on hopes of renewed talks between the United States and Iran, with Pakistan expected to play a diplomatic role.
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US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks aimed at ending the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran could resume in Pakistan within the next two days.
“They'd like to make a deal very badly,” Trump said at the White House, while reiterating that Iran's nuclear programme remains the key sticking point and that Tehran would not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
The prospect of fresh diplomacy helped ease concerns around crude supply disruptions and the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices lower for a second straight day on Wednesday.
Pakistan's market has witnessed extreme swings in recent sessions. Last Wednesday, the KSE-100 had surged more than 12,000 points after news of a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran boosted confidence. However, the benchmark still ended the previous week down more than 1%.
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Volatility persisted this week as well. The index plunged over 6,000 points on Monday after negotiations collapsed over the weekend, before rebounding strongly on Tuesday and extending gains on Wednesday.
Global equity strategist Christopher Wood of Jefferies described Pakistan as a “high-beta” market tied closely to IMF-led macro stabilisation. He noted that the MSCI Pakistan Index has risen 84% in US dollar terms since the IMF programme agreed in September 2024, outperforming MSCI India by 124 percentage points over the same period.
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