March 2, 2026
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Published by Aeyan Raza
January 16, 2026
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a powerful comeback on Friday, with aggressive buying pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index above the crucial 185,000 mark. The rally marked one of the strongest single-day gains in recent weeks, signaling renewed investor confidence after a volatile start to the year.
The market remained firmly in bullish territory throughout the trading session. The KSE-100 Index touched an intraday high of 185,208.98 points before settling at 185,098.83 at closing. This represented a sharp gain of 3,642.50 points, or 2.01%, reversing losses from the previous session.
Market participants linked the strong buying momentum to growing expectations of a policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Falling yields in the latest Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) auction have strengthened the belief that monetary easing may be around the corner.
Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, said fresh inflows from funds and institutional investors helped lift the market, while selling pressure faded significantly.
“After the decline in PIB yields, investors are positioning themselves for a potential rate cut in the next MPC meeting,” she explained, adding that market sentiment has turned decisively positive.
Buying interest was broad-based, with major sectors closing in the green. Strong gains were recorded in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation stocks.
Index-heavy names such as HUBCO, OGDC, MARI, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, MCB, UBL, NBP, and MEBL played a major role in lifting the benchmark index.
Investor confidence was further supported by the federal government’s decision to keep petroleum prices unchanged for the next fortnight, starting January 16, 2026. High Speed Diesel will remain at Rs257.08 per litre, while petrol stays at Rs253.17 per litre, easing concerns over inflationary pressure.
Friday’s rally came after a rough session on Thursday, when the PSX closed sharply lower amid heavy selling and weak sentiment. The KSE-100 Index had ended at 181,456.34 points, down 1,113.48 points.
With optimism building around monetary easing and stability in energy prices, analysts believe momentum could continue provided expectations around the MPC decision are met.
