This is a follow-up to yesterday’s PSX morning rally story. On Tuesday the KSE-100 index gained 1,454.80 points, or 0.87 per cent, to close at 168,018.87, up from 166,564.07 in the previous session. The close above 168,000 marked a strong day for the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and it set the stage for further gains on Wednesday morning, when the index crossed 170,000.
During Tuesday’s session, the index touched an intraday high of 1,905 points gained during the session, according to Dawn and Topline Securities. Business Recorder gives the intraday high for the index itself as 168,469.78 and the low as 167,308.66, a range of 1,161.12 points. The difference between the two accounts reflects different ways of describing the session’s movement — one in terms of points gained at the peak, the other in terms of the index level — but both point to a day in which the market moved firmly upwards.
Total market capitalisation rose to Rs18.396 trillion from Rs18.293 trillion. Market capitalisation, which measures the total value of all listed companies, is a useful indicator of the overall size of the market, and its rise on Tuesday was consistent with the gain in the index itself. Turnover for the session was 517.34 million shares, with a value of Rs20.7 billion, up 16.76 per cent. Higher turnover alongside a rising index suggests that the gains were supported by active trading, rather than by thin volumes.
Drivers cited for Tuesday’s performance included easing international crude oil prices and optimism about a possible settlement of the United States-Iran conflict and ongoing diplomatic efforts. Oil prices matter for Pakistan’s economy and for its stock market because Pakistan is a net importer of oil, and lower oil prices can ease pressure on the country’s import bill, inflation and external account. Optimism about diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, and about a possible settlement of the US-Iran conflict, would, if realised, further ease those pressures and improve sentiment towards emerging markets in the region.
On Wednesday morning, buying continued as investors awaited the results of the United States midterm elections and their potential impact on Middle East peace talks. At 10:40am the KSE-100 was hovering at 170,235.50, up 2,216.64 points or 1.32 per cent. The crossing of 170,000 in morning trading therefore extended Tuesday’s gains and took the index to a new level in the current rally.
It is important to note that market figures move during the session. The Wednesday morning figure of 170,235.50 was recorded at 10:40am, and the index will have moved after that point as trading continued. Tuesday’s closing figure, by contrast, is a fixed point: the level at which the market closed for the day. Readers should therefore treat the morning figure as a snapshot of trading at that time, not as a final closing level.
This article is not investment advice. Stock market movements, even strong ones such as those recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, do not guarantee future performance, and individual investment decisions should be based on personal circumstances and professional advice where appropriate. The figures reported here are drawn from Dawn, Business Recorder and Topline Securities, and they describe market movements, not recommendations.
What happens next will depend on a range of factors, including the outcome of the US midterm elections, the progress of diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, the direction of international oil prices, and domestic economic developments in Pakistan. The market’s performance on Tuesday and Wednesday morning shows that sentiment is currently positive, supported by easing oil prices and diplomatic optimism. Whether that sentiment is sustained will become clearer over the coming sessions.
For investors and observers, the key levels to watch will be whether the index can hold above 170,000 into the close, and whether turnover remains strong. Tuesday’s session combined a solid gain in the index, a rise in market capitalisation, and higher turnover. Wednesday morning’s trading extended that pattern, at least in the early hours. The coming days will show whether the rally has further to run or whether it pauses after its recent gains.
Source: Dawn and Business Recorder, 4 November 2026
