April 01, 2026 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 Index climbed sharply on Wednesday, gaining 7,461.58 points (5.02%) to reach an intraday high of 156,233.38. The index touched a low of 151,262.76 (+2,519.45) points, with total trading volume at 228.25 million shares.

Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange was halted for nearly an hour after both the KSE-30 and KSE-100 indices rose more than 5%, triggering an automatic market halt as per PSX regulations.

During the halt, all outstanding orders were cancelled automatically, and markets resumed as scheduled at 1:08 PM.

The bullish momentum followed strong overnight gains in global markets and improving geopolitical sentiment after U.S. President Trump indicated a potential military exit from Iran within two to three weeks, easing regional tensions, according to Investing.com.

Of the 100 index companies 99 closed up, 1 closed down, while 0 were unchanged.

The intraday rally was driven by major blue-chip stocks, with MEBL (+573.68 pts), LUCK (+538.83 pts), FFC (+530.03 pts), ENGROH (+370.65 pts), and HBL (+330.75 pts) making the largest contributions to the KSE-100 index.

Sector-wise, the surge was supported primarily by Commercial Banks, Cement, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, Fertilizer, and Investment Banks/Companies, while Leasing Companies, Textile, Woollen, and Modarabas contributed marginally to the downside.

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