Pakistan shares climb to record high as banks, energy stocks rally

KARACHI: Pakistani shares surged more than 1 per cent on Monday, driven by aggressive buying in banking, oil, and gas sectors, as the benchmark index reached new milestones on the first trading day of the week.

The benchmark KSE-100 index finished up 2,082 points, or 1.12 per cent, to close at 187,454 points.

During intra-day trading, the index touched a historic peak of 187,546 points before experiencing minor profit-taking toward the final session.

The market rally added approximately Rs224 billion ($803 million) to the overall market capitalization, providing a significant boost to investor wealth.

Market breadth remained strongly positive.

Out of 495 active corporate scripts traded on the exchange, shares of 296 companies advanced, 182 declined, and 17 remained unchanged.

Traders noted that momentum was heavily concentrated in the banking, oil and gas, chemical, and communication sectors, fueled by institutional interest and positive macroeconomic indicators.