PSX closes at record high on US investment reports

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index maintained its bullish run on Monday, hitting an all-time intraday high of 147,005.17 points before settling at a record 146,929.84, up 1,547.04 points (+1.06 per cent).

Bulls dominated the session as the index surged by as much as 1,622 points during intraday trading. Sentiment strengthened after reports emerged of US firms planning investments in Pakistan’s energy sector, further supported by stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, according to Topline Securities.

Investor optimism was also fuelled by the approval of Pakistan’s first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy — aimed at creating 3 million jobs and boosting GDP by 7–12 per cent by 2030—along with improved corporate results and the official US visit of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Habib Capital said.

“Stocks closed at a new all-time high amid strong financial results and speculation over the positive outcome of finer details on US investments under the Pak-US trade deal,” commented Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities.

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He added that record remittances of $3.2 billion in July 2025, rupee stability, and expectations of higher exports amid the India-US tariff conflict also contributed to the rally.

Market activity remained strong, with 607 million shares traded and a robust turnover of PKR 43.95 billion. LOTCHEM topped the volume chart with 73 million shares changing hands.

Heavyweights MARI, BAHL, OGDC, MEBL, and MCB collectively contributed 959 points to the index’s advance, underscoring the market’s risk-on sentiment.

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In the previous session, the KSE-100 had closed flat after hitting an intraday high of 1,166 points (+0.8 per cent), as profit-taking ahead of the weekend trimmed gains and the index ended at 145,382 points.

Previous session recap

On Wednesday, July 30, the market had managed to close higher despite facing uncertainty after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) surprised investors by maintaining the policy rate at 11 percent. Many participants had priced in a 50 basis point cut, which led to a choppy session early on.

Despite the initial shock, the KSE-100 Index closed at 138,412.25, gaining 447.44 points or 0.32 percent by the end of the session. It swung through an intraday range of 1,360 points, reaching a high of 139,018.88 and a low of 137,658.81. Trading volume for the index was recorded at 167.69 million shares.