KARACHI: After an overnight unprecedented bloodbath, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) showed a slight recovery as global markets rebounded from the heavy losses triggered by the US reciprocal tariffs and retaliatory measures, raising fears of a worldwide recession.

Ali Najib, head of sales at Insight Securities, said the PSX exhibited some sign of recovery as the index opened with a gain of 1,100 points. The strong momentum continued until the market made an intraday high at 116,692, a gain of 1,783 points.

However, the brave value-hunters became profit-takers as they started to trim their positions at the day’s high, which weighed on the bullish sentiment and ultimately led the index to shed some earlier gains and settle at 115,532.43, up 623 points or 0.54pc.

Mr Najib emphasised the need for observing market behaviour after April 9, when the global trade tariffs will be implemented, and assessing their repercussions on the affected countries.

He said the reciprocal tariffs might trigger market volatility, with investor sentiment turning cautious, adding that export-driven stocks could decline while safe-haven assets like gold might gain. Trade tensions with countries having huge trading volumes could spark retaliation, affecting global supply chains and earnings outlooks, potentially leading to a short-term market pullback.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the PSX partially recovered amid choppy world equities and falling crude oil prices, eyeing negotiations on Trump tariff levies.

He noted that institutional buying, coupled with hopes for the IMF tranche next month, SBP policy easing and the government’s commitment to addressing the Rs1.5 trillion gas circular debt, played a crucial role in the bullish close at the PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said the positive momentum was mainly driven by strong performances from Lucky Cement, Mari Energies, Meezan Bank, Bank Al-Habib, and Bank Alfalah, contributing 688 points to the index together.

The trading volume fell by 25.33pc to 530.69 million shares while the traded value rose by 21.72pc to Rs33.67bn day-on-day.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Cnerg­yico PK (121.66m shares), Bank Alfalah (32.60m shares), K-Electric (19.04m shares), Sui Southern Gas Company (18.55m shares) and The Bank of Punjab (15.98m shares).

The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Bata Pakistan (Rs133.29), Philip Morris (Rs108.02), Lucky Cement (Rs98.09), Ismail Industries (Rs80.77) and Unilever Foods (Rs73.53).

The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Service Industries (Rs77.50), Khyber Textile (Rs45.21), Bhanero Textile (Rs39.29), Ghandhara Industries (Rs17.69) and Shahmurad Sugar (Rs17.54).

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025