PSX soars over 9,900 points following ceasefire between Pakistan,India

Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong rally on Monday, surging by over 9,900 points since the start of intra-day trading. The surge came after days of volatility due to escalating military tensions between Pakistan and India.

Following the announcement of a ceasefire, the PSX recorded a massive gain of 9,929.48 or 9.29%, reaching 117,104.11.

Due to the intensity of the bullish trend, trading was suspended for an hour in accordance with PSX regulations, which mandate a cooling-off period if the market rises more than 5% for over five minutes.

Market analyst Muhammad Sohail stated, “The market is showing extremely positive sentiment. It was expected to open with a rise of around 7,000 points, but this performance has exceeded all expectations.”

He further explained that trading in some stocks was halted due to the 10% circuit breaker being triggered. “The market was suspended for an hour under the PSX rule requiring a cooling period in case of sustained high movement more than 5%.”

Sohail compared the sentiment to that seen in 2023 when Pakistan secured a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noting, “The current optimism is even stronger than what we saw then.”

He attributed the rally to the ceasefire and expressed hope that positive outcomes from the upcoming truce meetings could maintain the momentum.

“If the current trend continues, the market may soon reach or surpass the previous high of over 119,000 points,” he added, noting that the index currently stands above 116,000.

The sharp rally followed the announcement of a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after a week of heightened tensions. The conflict escalated after Indian airstrikes reportedly hit residential areas in Pakistan. In response, Pakistan downed three of India’s advanced Rafale fighter jets and another warplane.

Hostilities continued into Friday when an Indian missile was shot down, prompting Pakistan to launch "Operation Bunyan um Mursoos," which reportedly inflicted significant damage on Indian defence infrastructure.