Bulls roar louder as KSE-100 touches fresh all-time high

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index extended its bullish run on Wednesday, closing at a fresh all-time high as investors drew confidence from Moody’s upgrade of five major Pakistani banks, improved foreign inflows, and a manageable current account deficit.

Investor optimism was buoyed by a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) to $208 million in July, alongside a $254 million current account deficit that analysts described as manageable, Pearl Securities noted.

Stocks surged after Moody’s raised the local- and foreign-currency long-term deposit ratings of five leading banks to Caa1 from Caa2, following an upgrade of Pakistan’s sovereign rating. “Upbeat data on current account, strong remittances, rising exports and rupee stability played a catalyst role in the record close at PSX,” said Ahsan Mehanti, CEO at Arif Habib Commodities.

The market climbed as much as 1,490 points intraday before settling at 150,591 — up 820 points, or 0.55 per cent, according to Topline Securities. Better-than-expected corporate earnings and strong liquidity from local institutions underpinned the momentum, with market heavyweights attracting robust flows.

Ismail Iqbal Securities reported that the benchmark index crossed the 151,000-point barrier intraday, marking record highs both during trading and at market close, supported by improved liquidity and sustained investor confidence.

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Commercial banks, technology and communication, and pharmaceuticals were the top-performing sectors, cumulatively adding 821 points to the index. Major contributors included Systems Limited (SYS), Bank Al Habib (BAHL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), MCB Bank (MCB) and Bank Alfalah (BAFL), which together lifted the index by 503 points.

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Trading activity remained vibrant, with volumes soaring to 662 million shares and the traded value reaching Rs40.5 billion. Bank of Punjab (BOP) led the volume chart with 52 million shares changing hands.