PSX rebounds in early trade, KSE-100 up nearly 500 points on energy led buying

After suffering one of its steepest single-day declines on Wednesday, positive momentum returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) despite a tense geopolitical situation, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 500 points, amid strong buying in the energy stocks, during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday. At 9:38am, the benchmark index was hovering at 180,744.48, down by 884.88 points or 0.49%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, NRL, HUBCO, KE, MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC and WAFI, traded in the green. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Pakistan’s economy to grow by 3.5% in fiscal year 2026-27, falling 0.5% points short of the government’s 4 percent growth target. In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update, released on Wednesday, the IMF also maintained its 3.6% GDP growth forecast for fiscal year 2025-26. On Thursday , PSX suffered one of its steepest single-day declines as renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sparked widespread panic selling, with investors rushing to reduce exposure after fresh US strikes on Iran and escalating concerns over a broader regional conflict pushed international oil prices sharply higher. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged 4,626.18 points, or 2.48%, to close at 181,629.37 points. Internationally, Asian shares climbed on Thursday as semiconductors got a respite from heavy selling, though ​gains were capped by a surge in oil prices as a resumption of hostilities in the Gulf reignited ‌inflation fears and hammered bonds. Oil prices rose for a third straight session after President Donald Trump said the interim agreement with Iran to end the war was “over”. U.S. military also launched fresh strikes on Iran for a second day to open the Strait of Hormuz, although Trump later said he did not ​expect a return to a full-fledged war, helping soothe concerns. Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $78.65 a barrel and were ​up 9% this week to cross above $80 a barrel for the first time since June 22. That knocked ⁠global bond markets and boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates this year to tame inflation, ​with Fed funds futures now implying 38 basis points of policy tightening this year, back to where they were a week ago. Wall ​Street initially fell on Trump’s comments but climbed off session lows, with the Nasdaq eking out a small gain of 0.2%. Chip giant Nvidia rallied 3.6% after media reports that China plans to allow its top AI firms to buy a limited number of the company’s H200 chips. MSCI’s broadest index of ​Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei climbed 2.3% to break a three-day losing streak. This is an intraday update