PSX surges over 12,000 points after Pakistan efforts pause Iran-US war

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by more than 12,000 points on Wednesday after Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts paused the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.

The benchmark KSE-100 index jumped to 164,035.83 points after rising by 12362.38 points or 8.15%, up from the previous close of 151,673.45 points. The market was halted due to the surge and resumed trading at 10:42am.

Mediated by Pakistan, US President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said in a statement Tehran would cease counter-attacks and provide safe passage through the waterway, if attacks against it stop.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced that he has invited the leadership from both nations to Islamabad on April 10 to further negotiate a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.

Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities, told Geo.tv that the announcement of the ceasefire, especially due to the efforts by Pakistan, has buoyed investment sentiment to new highs.

“Oil prices have reduced 15%, and global markets, along with ours, are now recovering. We had had a sharp correction of 20–22%, and the market is starting to reduce the war/macro discount and looking forward to normalisation.”

Topline Securities' Maaz Mulla told Geo.tv that the equity market roared back as the ceasefire sparked a wave of optimism across trading floors. “With Islamabad set to host peace talks on April 10, investors swiftly priced in a reduction in geopolitical risk, flipping sentiment from caution to conviction.”

Fueling the rally further, he said, international oil prices tumbled sharply, easing fears of imported inflation and external account pressures. He added that the twin tailwinds of diplomatic de-escalation and softer energy prices unleashed broad-based buying, with participants chasing risk and rebuilding positions across cyclical plays.

“In essence, the market found its long-awaited trigger where geopolitics aligned with macro relief, turning the tide decisively in favour of the bulls.”