KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday snapped a seven-session losing streak amid renewed buying interest after US President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned attack on Iran to allow negotiations to end the war in the Middle East, though trading volume fell below 400 million shares.
Mr Trump said he called off a new bombardment of Iran planned for Tuesday after Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies asked for more time to pursue diplomacy.
Topline Securities Ltd said the PSX witnessed a robust pullback, recouping some of its recent losses as investor confidence made a notable comeback.
The benchmark index opened on a positive note and maintained its upward momentum throughout the session, reaching an intraday high of 2,504 points at 164,309.65 before closing at 162,896.68, up 1,091.66 points or 0.67 per cent.
Index snaps seven-session losing streak
The market sentiment remained buoyant amid encouraging developments in the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran, easing geopolitical concerns. Additionally, a slight decline in international oil prices provided further comfort to investors by easing inflationary worries and strengthening expectations of macroeconomic stability.
The top contributors, including United Bank Ltd, Bank Al-Habib Ltd, Fauji Fertiliser, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, remained in the spotlight, collectively contributing 751 points to the benchmark.
Overall market activity stayed quiet, with total trading volume dropping 21.58pc to 391 million shares. Meanwhile, the traded value rose 18.19pc to Rs22.9 billion. Cnergyico PK topped the volume chart with 23.9 million shares.
Pakistan’s net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) dropped to $54 million in April from $168m in March. During 10MFY26, the net FDI clocked in at $1.409bn, down 31pc year-on-year.
On the corporate front, according to Arif Habib Ltd, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Ltd reported MY26 earnings per share at Rs22.64, up 19pc year-on-year and dividend per share at Rs9. Earnings and payout were above expectations. Net revenue for MY26 clocked in at Rs122,283m compared to Rs78,066m in MY25, depicting an increase of 57pc year-on-year. In 4QMY26, revenue clocked in at Rs37,300m compared to Rs27,653m in the same period last year, depicting an increase of 35pc year-on-year and 13pc quarter-on-quarter.
The government has invited expressions of interest to acquire majority stakes in the three electric supply companies — Islamabad, Gujranwala and Faisalabad.
Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026
