Investor confidence returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index climbing over 1,100 points in early trading after a sharp sell-off the previous day.
By 9:40am, the index was up 1,163.51 points, or 0.97%, reaching 121,629.44. The rebound follows Wednesday’s session, when the index dropped more than 1,500 points to close at 120,465.93, driven by a wave of bearish sentiment.
In contrast, global markets struggled. Asian equities slipped, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 0.8% as a stronger yen weighed on exporters. Taiwan’s index declined 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8%. US S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, although American markets were closed for a national holiday.
Oil prices also dipped, with Brent crude trading at $76.32 per barrel, still hovering near a 4.5-month high. Currency markets saw the yen strengthen 0.2% to 144.92 per dollar, while the US dollar continued to gain against major peers on safe-haven flows.
In a notable diplomatic development, President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, for a private meeting at the White House—an unprecedented move, as no senior civilian officials were present. The visit is being viewed in Islamabad as a diplomatic breakthrough, particularly in light of recent engagements between US Vice President JD Vance and top Indian officials.
Separately, the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, signalling potential rate cuts later in the year. However, it revised its outlook in response to expected inflationary pressures tied to Trump’s proposed tariff agenda.
