Robust growth in remittances and foreign exchange reserves, coupled with other positive factors such as a slowdown in short-term inflation, spurred bullish sentiment, propelling the benchmark KSE 100 index to its highest-ever closing above 73,000.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation noted that the market surged following a 27.99 percent year-on-year increase in remittances from overseas Pakistanis to $2.81 billion in April. Additionally, the cement sector surpassed the government’s target of a 27 percent increase in the Public Sector Development Programme to Rs1.2 trillion for FY25. The stability of the rupee, supported by the surge in the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves to $9.12 billion for the week ending May 3 after the receipt of the final tranche of $1.1 billion from the IMF under the SBA, also contributed to the record close at PSX.
Topline Securities Ltd attributed this positive momentum to the Sensitive Price Index-based weekly inflation, which saw its fourth consecutive deceleration (down by 1.39 percent week-on-week for the period ending May 9). The cement and steel sectors remained in focus, driven by the SPI numbers, bolstering investor confidence in the potential decline in the State Bank of Pakistan’s policy rate going forward.
Lucky Cement, Dg Khan Cement, Pioneer Cement, Pakistan Oilfield Ltd, and Interloop Ltd were among the top contributors to the index, collectively adding 218 points. Consequently, the benchmark index hit an intraday record high of 73,449.38 and a low of 72,876.84 before closing at an all-time high of 73,085.50 points, marking a gain of 427.45 points or 0.59 percent on a day-on-day basis.
Trading volume increased slightly by 9.80 percent to 741.19 million shares, while the traded value rose by 5.05 percent to Rs25.26 billion on a day-on-day basis.
Significant contributors to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (85.72 million shares), Hum Network (51.46 million shares), Pak Elektron Ltd (33.64 million shares), Fauji Cement Company (29.77 million shares), and Hascol Petroleum (26.58 million shares).
The stocks that recorded the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Hoechst Pak Ltd (Rs94.71), Bhanero Textile (Rs74.75), Lucky Core Industries (Rs59.69), Highnoon Lab (Rs31.09), and Pak Services (Rs30.03).
Foreign investors remained net sellers, offloading shares worth $0.30 million.
