ISLAMABAD : Stocks rose on Friday as investors took heart from easing oil prices, no confirmed fresh US strikes in Iran and stronger domestic external-account indicators.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index touched an intraday high of 183,477.57, up 2,217.90 points, or 1.22%, from the previous close of 181,259.67. Its intraday low stood at 181,880.54, still up 620.87 points, or 0.34%.
“There has been no further escalation and oil prices retreated. The market is taking advantage of this and moving towards its new highs,” Ismail Iqbal Securities Chief Executive Officer Ahfaz Mustafa told Geo.tv.
A US defence official told Al Jazeera late Thursday that the US military had not carried out strikes in Iran in the past few hours, even as semi-official Iranian media reported explosions in parts of the country.
Multiple blasts were heard late Thursday around Bushehr — home to one of Iran’s nuclear plants — and the nearby city of Choghadak, Mehr News Agency reported. Three more explosions were heard in the southern city of Konarak, it added. Shortly afterwards, United States Central Command (Centcom) told Al Jazeera that the US military had not carried out any strikes in Iran in the past few hours.
Oil prices, which had jumped after US strikes were announced on Wednesday, retreated on Thursday and remained lower in Friday trade, although they were still on track for weekly gains as concerns over Middle East supply disruptions persisted.
At 0728 GMT, delayed market data showed Brent crude futures down 21 cents, or 0.28%, at $76.09 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 15 cents, or 0.21%, to $71.93.
US crude closed down 2.3% at $71.83 a barrel on Thursday, while Brent fell 2.5% to $76.05. For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about 6%, while WTI was headed for a 5% increase.
Analysts said oil prices had eased from mid-week highs, but a substantial risk premium remained because Hormuz transits were again close to a standstill and there were no clear signs of when normal traffic would resume.
They said market confidence that the US and Iran could return to diplomacy was helping cap further gains.
Investor sentiment also received support from Pakistan’s external-account data. Workers’ remittances reached $41.6 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, in line with government and central bank estimates of $41 billion to $42 billion, State Bank of Pakistan data showed on Thursday.
Remittances stood at $3.5 billion in June, up 2% year-on-year but down 18.3% from May.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $1.944 billion to $18.471 billion during the week ending July 3 due to official inflows, the SBP said on Thursday.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves rose by $1.944 billion to $23.989 billion, while reserves held by commercial banks remained almost unchanged at $5.518 billion.