KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied on Friday, with the KSE-100 index surging by approximately 575.92 points, showing 0.73%, from the previous day’s close, reaching 78,450.14 in early trading.

After experiencing volatility last week, the bulls experienced a dip on Monday with the KSE-100 index losing 1,141 points during intra-day trading.

The stocks plunged more than 1,100 points in a widespread bearish activity, sparked by the global equity sell-off over fears of a potential US recession and escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Key factors contributing to the bearish trend included the weak rupee, slump in global crude oil prices and potential impact on Pakistan’s exports due to recession fears in the US.

The market’s movement was largely influenced by mixed investor sentiment over the growing political uncertainty, policy rate cuts, rating decisions of global agencies, and improved economic data.

The PSX had reached an unprecedented all-time high of the 81,000-point mark last month.

PSX recovered slightly in Tuesday’s trading session, marked by gains in second and third-tier shares, primarily due to a rebound in global equities and strong corporate earnings.

Consequently, the bourse managed to wipe out earlier losses and ended the day above the 77,000 mark with thin gains of over 100 points.

Overall trading volumes increased to 600.9 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 501.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs17.1 billion.