Following a session marked by institutional profit-taking a day earlier, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a measured rebound on Thursday as renewed buying helped the benchmark KSE-100 index claw back some lost ground.

The market briefly surged around 700 points during intra-day trade before settling with a modest uptick of around 140 points, reflecting cautious optimism and selective re-entry by investors.

Sentiment strengthened after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that bidding for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be broadcast live on December 23, 2025, a development that fuelled interest in PIA Holding Company, which was actively traded throughout the session.

At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a mild gain of 138.20 points, or 0.08%, settling at 166,283.55.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported a largely flat session following two consecutive days of decline, with market breadth evenly balanced as 50 stocks advanced while 49 retreated. Index support came primarily from Service Industries (+10%), Pioneer Cement (+3.84%) and PTCL (+4.95%). On the downside, Fauji Fertiliser Company (-0.86%), Pakistan Services (-6.7%) and Mari Energies (-0.62%) were the biggest drags, it said.

In sector developments, the telecom regulator granted conditional approval for the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan by PTCL. Meanwhile, Bank Alfalah (+0.18%) accepted a non-bidding offer from Ghazanfar Bank to acquire its Afghanistan business, pending satisfactory due diligence. With key support near 164,000, the KSE-100 remains 0.24% down while heading into the final session of the week, AHL said.

"It was a market recovery as investors re-entered," noted Topline Securities in its review. After a heavy spell of institutional selling in Wednesday's session, the bourse staged a welcome recovery on Thursday. The benchmark index touched the intra-day high of 691 points before closing at 166,284, up 138 points, reflecting renewed buying interest and improved intra-day sentiment.

On the news front, it said, confidence strengthened after the prime minister announced that the bidding process for the privatisation of PIA would be broadcast live on national television on December 23. This development sparked notable investor interest in PIA Holding Company, which saw healthy volumes.

Meanwhile, Lalpir Power emerged as one of the most actively traded stocks, with over 108 million shares changing hands. The surge aligns with the company's ongoing share buyback programme that commenced on November 28.

Market sentiment remained broadly positive, supported by strong performance in key heavyweights such as Service Industries, Pioneer Cement, PTCL, Engro Holdings and Pakistan Petroleum, which added 298 points to the index, Topline said.

Mubashir Anis Naviwala of JS Global wrote that the PSX closed slightly positive as the KSE-100 settled at 166,284, up 138 points. The market witnessed choppy trading earlier in the day but it later stabilised with selective buying near support levels. Volumes remained moderate at 608 million shares, reflecting cautious sentiment. A close above 166k indicates underlying support, though momentum remains soft, he said.

Overall trading volumes were recorded at 608 million shares compared with the previous session's tally of 593 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs31.2 billion.

Shares of a total of 477 companies were traded. Out of these, 203 closed in the green, 223 ended lower, while 51 remained unchanged.

Lalpir Power led the volumes with 108.9 million shares, shedding Rs1.57 to close at Rs24.33. It was followed by PIA Holding Company with trading in 37.8 million shares, gaining Rs3.62 to settle at Rs41.61, while PTCL recorded trading in 34.5 million shares, gaining Rs2.07 to close at Rs43.92. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs1.8 billion, the National Clearing Company reported.