The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bullish trend as the KSE-100 Index gained over 1% during Thursday’s trading session.
Closing at 58,899.84, the benchmark index surged by 701.08 points or 1.2%. The positive momentum was attributed to across-the-board buying, particularly in sectors like automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, and pharmaceuticals.
This bullish trend follows Wednesday’s historic achievement when the index surpassed the 58,000 level for the first time, settling at 58,198.76, up by 827.17 points or 1.44%.
The ongoing market optimism is linked to improved economic indicators in the country and successful negotiations between the interim government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The positive outcome of the first review is expected to unlock $700 million in funding.
Analysts anticipate a potential decline in interest rates in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which could redirect liquidity from fixed income to equities. Improved economic indicators, including a reduced current account deficit and meager growth in the Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) Index, contribute to the positive sentiment.
Sana Tawfik, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), noted that valuations remain attractive, and the release of the expected IMF tranche in early December is anticipated to further boost the stock market. In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended its five-session appreciation against the US dollar, losing 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Thursday, settling at 285.27, a decrease of Re0.66.
