KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday shrugged off prevailing uncertainty following Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir’s visit to Iran, which revived hopes of de-escalation between Washington and Tehran, helping the benchmark index settle in the green zone.
Topline Securities Ltd said the index closed at 177,370.71, gaining 404.02 points or 0.23 per cent. The market remained volatile throughout the session, with the index recovering from early weakness as selective buying emerged across key sectors.
Investor participation remained cautious, with buying interest focused on selected blue-chip and cyclical stocks. The broader market continued to encounter resistance around the 178,000 level, keeping the near-term outlook range-bound.
On the positive side, United Bank, Meezan Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Habib Bank, and Lucky Cement were among the key contributors, collectively adding approximately 667 points to the index. Conversely, Oil and Gas Development Company and Engro Holdings and Systems Ltd were among the major laggards, collectively shaving approximately 201 points.
Market participation weakened sharply as trading volume plunged 30.92pc to 644.8 million shares and traded value dipped 28.87pc to Rs31.4 billion.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd (AHL), said the PSX recorded a slightly positive session, with the benchmark remaining range-bound within a 1,200-point range, reaching an intraday high of 177,776 and a low of 176,577.
On the geopolitical front, the brokerage noted that the army chief concluded a one-day visit to Iran as part of efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington and to help end their conflict. The visit “was highly fruitful and yielded very valuable diplomatic achievements, the results of which will become apparent soon,” the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency quoted presidency spokesman Mehdi Tabatabaei as saying.
Meanwhile, international oil prices declined by 3pc. With a public holiday in Pakistan for Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH) on Wednesday, news during the holiday is anticipated to influence market sentiment for the rest of the week.
Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2026