Post-budget optimistic investors push PSX to all-time high

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed on a positive note, reaching a new record high, breaking the psychological barrier in a post-budget session on Wednesday.

Stocks gained 2,328.24 points, or 1.91 per cent, closing at 124,352.68, as benchmark KSE-100 Index reached the new all-time highs both during intraday trading and by the session-end.

 “The bulls took firm control of the trading floor as the highly anticipated federal budget announcement sparked a wave of investor optimism, propelling the benchmark index into record-breaking territory. Widely applauded by market participants, the budget set a reassuring tone on fiscal direction and policy clarity, bolstering investor sentiment across the board,” Topline Securities stated.

During the process, the PSX benchmark index shattered the psychological barrier of 124,000, marking a stunning intraday rally of 2,563 points, before closing at a historic high of 124,352.

The robust move reflects increasing confidence in the government’s economic roadmap and signals strong momentum heading into the coming sessions.

“The surge was driven by investors’ optimism over a favourable federal budget, which contrary to earlier concerns, introduced no new capital gains tax or additional levies on the stock market,” Ismail Iqbal Securities note stated.

Top contributors to the index’s rise included LUCK, FFC, PPL, ENGROH, and MARI, which collectively added a remarkable +953 points.

On the trading front, PPL (Rs2.51bn), LUCK (Rs1.94bn), MLCF (Rs1.94bn), DGKC (Rs1.92bn), and OGDC (Rs1.88bn) led the charts in terms of traded value, reflecting heightened interest in key blue-chip and mid-tier names.

Market activity remained robust, with the overall trading volume clocking in at a solid 1.035bn shares. The total traded value stood at Rs46.63bn. WTL emerged as the volume leader with 55m shares exchanged.