Pakistan stock market closes near 52,000 mark

KARACHI: In today’s trading session, the bulls maintained their stronghold on the local stock exchange, propelling the benchmark KSE-100 index to a notable surge of 437.35 points, or 0.85 per cent.

The index reached a closing high of 51,920.27, marking a significant milestone for the year.

KSE-100 Closing – October 31

During the day, market enthusiasm pushed the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index above the 52,000 level, a feat not seen since 2017, reaching an intraday peak of 52,088.71 (+605.78) points.

This remarkable uptrend followed yesterday’s gain of 539.09 points, or 1.06 per cent. The total volume of the KSE-100 Index reached 252.19 million shares.

Despite the recent decision by the central bank to maintain the policy rate, market sentiment remained positive. Some experts had anticipated a minor rate cut, but the market showed resilience.

Investors also awaited the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading, expecting a milder figure.

Additionally, optimism prevailed regarding a favourable review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), scheduled for this week. A successful review could pave the way for a $700 million installment.

Among the 100 index companies, 54 experienced gains, 32 faced declines, 1 remained unchanged, and 13 were untraded.

Read more: Gold price in Pakistan increases to Rs213,000 per tola

Key contributors to the positive movement were commercial banks with 168.91 points, fertilisers with 89.54 points, power generation and distribution with 81.63 points, refineries with 56.17 points, and oil and gas exploration companies with 38.19 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 34,558.22, reflecting a gain of 293.01 points. The total market volume surged to 455.332 million shares, compared to 286.622 million in the previous session.

The traded value rose to Rs15.64 billion, indicating an increase of Rs4.19 billion. Throughout the trading day, there were 191,173 trades reported in 356 companies. Among them, 188 companies experienced gains, 146 faced declines, and 22 remained unchanged.