The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its impressive surge on Thursday, briefly crossing the 106,000-point mark during intraday trading, fueled by robust investor sentiment. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 1,533.30 points, or 1.46%, reaching 106,637.63 points, up from the previous day’s closing of 105,448.05 points.
The rally comes on the heels of a record high achieved on Wednesday, with analysts attributing the strong market performance to increased trading volumes, largely driven by anticipation of an interest rate cut. The State Bank of Pakistan has already lowered interest rates by 700 basis points since June, bringing the rate to 15%. A recent poll by Topline Securities revealed that 71% of respondents expect the central bank to announce another rate cut of at least 200 basis points in its upcoming monetary policy meeting.
“Strong buying by local institutions, combined with high trading volumes, demonstrates investor confidence, particularly due to expectations of another rate cut,” said Topline Securities.
This positive trend in the stock market is a welcome development for Pakistan, which narrowly avoided a sovereign default last year by securing a critical $3 billion loan program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The country has made notable economic strides since then. Consumer inflation slowed to 4.9% in November, marking the lowest rate in nearly six years, down from 38% the previous year. Additionally, the trade deficit for the first five months of the current fiscal year narrowed by 7.39% to $8.65 billion, compared to $9.34 billion during the same period in 2023. Exports saw a significant 12.57% rise to reach $13.69 billion, while imports increased by a more modest 3.90%, totaling $22.34 billion.
The narrowing trade deficit and rising exports are seen as further indicators of positive economic momentum, reinforcing investor optimism.
Pakistan’s government is committed to implementing the IMF-backed economic reforms, which include fiscal tightening, the privatization of state-owned enterprises, and efforts to increase tax revenues.
