Karachi, January 16, 2026 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed the week on a strong note as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 3,642 points on Friday, recovering sharply after declines in the previous two trading sessions.
At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index settled at 185,098.83 points, marking a 2.01% increase from the prior close of 181,456.33 points. The index touched an intraday high of 185,208.98 points and a low of 182,559.69 points, reflecting strong momentum throughout the session. Trading activity remained robust, with volume exceeding 381.9 million shares and total market value crossing Rs53.3 billion.
Market analysts attributed the buying spree primarily to expectations of a further cut in the policy rate at the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Investor sentiment improved significantly following the latest Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) auction, where yields declined, reinforcing expectations of an easing monetary stance.
Fresh buying from funds and institutional investors was observed, while selling pressure that weighed on the market earlier in the week largely faded. This shift in sentiment helped trigger broad-based gains across the bourse.
Strong buying interest was recorded in major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation. Index-heavy stocks such as HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, and UBL all closed in positive territory.
The strong finish underscores renewed investor confidence as the market heads into the new trading week with optimism.