The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw another positive run on Thursday, boosted by developments at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended well above the 44,000 level – largely considered as a resistance point earlier in the week.
This is the first time the index has closed above 44,000 since May 20, 2022.
Banking, cement, chemical, telecommunications, oil and gas exploration businesses, and OMCs settled in the green, while several automotive assemblers stayed in the red.
Earlier in the day, the index was unable to maintain its level above 44,000, and it retreated to about the 43,900-point level. However, bulls returned to help the KSE-100 close at 44,178.85, up 626.01 points or 1.44%.
According to experts, the news comes as investors anticipate the IMF’s approval of a loan during an Executive Board meeting in the coming days.
The IMF Executive Board will meet on July 12 to review a $3 billion loan programme for Pakistan, the lender revealed via email to journalists on Wednesday night.
Last week, Pakistan received IMF staff-level approval.
On the economic front, according to data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Pakistani rupee gained 0.13% against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday.
Banking (160.19 points), oil and gas exploration (120.42 points), and cement (78.86 points) were the sectors driving the benchmark index higher.
The volume of shares traded on the all-share index dipped to 297.8 million from 351.2 million on Wednesday, but the value of shares moved increased to Rs12.4 billion from Rs12 billion the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom led the way in terms of volume with 28.8 million shares, followed by Pak Elektron (16.2 million shares) and Pak Petroleum (14.1 million shares).
Shares of 335 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 200 registered an increase, 112 recorded a fall and 23 remained unchanged.
