KSE-100 breaks record again, gold down globally

KARACHI: As the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continues with its historic record-breaking streak, the KSE-100 Index touched a new high on Monday with over 1 per cent gain to start the new business week.  

On the other hand, the gold prices were down. The local market saw a big drop of Rs2,500 in per taula price of the yellow metal.

It was a result of the global commodity market, where gold slipped 0.9 per cent to $3,303 an ounce, though it did gain almost 2 per cent last week as the dollar fell.

INVESTORS’ CONFIDENCE

Meanwhile, the main reason behind the latest gains in the Pakistan Stock Exchange is strong investor confidence.

That’s why the market remained bullish supported by key positive developments. Pakistan signed a $2 billion investment deal with Azerbaijan, boosting investor confidence, an analyst at Al Habib Capital Markets said.

Moreover, the government finalised a 10-year industrial policy after long discussion with business community and positive progress on trade talks with the US, raising hopes for export growth, AHCM said.

These factors together strengthened sentiment at the PSX, it added.

As far as the details of Monday’s session are concerned, the KSE-100 Index ended the day at 133,370, marking a gain of 1,421 points or 1.08 per cent. At one point, the benchmark index hit an intraday high of 133,862, fuelled by strong performance in banking stocks amid expectations of robust earnings and dividend payouts for the June quarter.

Meanwhile, the textile stocks also advanced, likely supported by optimism over a potential tariff agreement with the US.

When it comes to major contributors to the index’s upward movement, the list includes HBL, FFC, BAFL, MCB, and LCI, which collectively added 476 points.

On the flip side, the index faced some pressure from negative contributions by AICL, EFERT, and MARI.

Investor activity remained strong, with the total trading volume reaching 914 million shares and a turnover of Rs45 billion. IMAGE led the volume chart, with an impressive 48 million shares.