KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged yet another spectacular rally on Friday, as aggressive value hunting pushed the benchmark KSE-100 index above 174,000 during intraday trading, marking the fourth straight session of a recovery rally amid signs of peace in the Middle East.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, PSX, continued its strong post-ceasefire rally, with the KSE-100 index closing at 173,939, up 4,027 points or 2.37 per cent, reflecting sustained bullish momentum.

Market sentiment remained firmly positive throughout the session, as investors chased gains amid optimism about a potential resolution to the Middle East conflict, further strengthening risk appetite. Ongoing diplomatic developments have also triggered FOMO-driven positioning, with participants actively rebuilding exposure ahead of a possible positive outcome.

The top contributors included United Bank, National Bank, Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Lucky Cement, Habib Bank, Bank of Punjab, Hub Power, Engro Holdings and Bank Al-Habib, which added 2,497 points to the benchmark.

Investors chase peace-driven momentum

Market activity rem­ained robust, with total traded volume up 48.10pc to 1.437 billion shares and traded value surging 54.76pc to Rs67.9 billion, led by Bank of Punjab, which recorded over 153.7 million shares traded.

The potential second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad remains a key driver of market direction. Although no formal schedule has been confirmed, ongoing diplomatic efforts and backchannel engagement suggest that negotiations are likely to continue in the near term.

As a result, market sentiment is anticipated to remain generally buoyant; however, it will be highly responsive to headlines and new developments, with each update having the potential to notably impact short-term momentum and investor positioning.

Topline Securities Ltd said this positivity could be attributed to a statement by US President Donald Trump, in which he claimed that Iran has made concessions in ongoing negotiations to end the seven-week war, while a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon increased the prospect of a broader peace.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2026