Pakistan’s stock market hits new historic high, closes above 57,000

WEB DESK: Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 Index achieved a remarkable milestone today, surging past the 57,000 mark and concluding the trading session at a new record high of 57,397.

This represents a noteworthy increase of 716.96 points, or 1.26 per cent, day-on-day.

This surge is attributed to the successful staff-level agreement reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities concerning the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, this agreement is set to provide Pakistan with access to SDR 528 million, or approximately $700 million.

With this, the total disbursements under the programme are poised to reach almost $1.9 billion.

The KSE-100 Index exhibited a trading range of 1,017.73 points, reaching an intraday high of 57,549.27 (+869.20) and a low of 56,531.54 (-148.53) points.

The total volume of KSE-100 Index shares traded amounted to 359.819 million.

In addition to the financial developments, yesterday’s T-Bills auction reinforced the market’s anticipation of a peak in interest rates.

Notably, record-high participation in 12-month MTBs was observed for the third consecutive auction. Yields for all three tenors experienced a decline of 45–50 basis points, settling at 21.5 per cent.

This suggests a prevailing expectation in the market for a downward trend in interest rates.

During today’s trading session, out of the 100 index companies, 50 closed higher, 29 closed lower, and 21 remained untraded.

The positive performance of the KSE-100 Index was underpinned by Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 302.05, Fertiliser with 98.42, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 69.87, Technology & Communication with 53.52, and Food & Personal Care Products with 45.47 points.

Read more: PKR gains against US dollar

Companies contributing significantly to the index’s gains included OGDC with 138.54, PPL with 126.61, EFERT with 77.27, PSO with 51.65, and MARI with 32.61 points.

Conversely, the index faced downward pressure from Automobile Assembler with 15.22, Paper & Board with 6.83, Refinery with 4.34, Transport with 1.46, and Property with 1.04 points.

Notable companies dragging the index lower were BAHL with 28.92, MTL with 21.83, BAFL with 12.49, LUCK with 8.64, and FCCL with 7.55 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index concluded at 38,382.84, marking a net gain of 713.58 points.

The total market volume experienced a significant uptick of 60 per cent day-on-day, reaching 1.057 billion shares compared to 661.6 million in the previous session.

The traded value recorded an increase of Rs28.86 billion, reflecting a rise of Rs4.51 billion. This surge in market volume represents the highest level observed since June 17, 2021.

Across 371 companies, there were 291,717 trades reported, with 234 closing higher, 116 closing lower, and 21 remaining unchanged.