The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week on a strong note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing Monday’s session at 146,929.84 points, marking an impressive gain of 1,547.05 points or 1.06 percent. The market continued its bullish momentum as investors capitalized on positive sectoral movements and optimism over potential progress in resolving the country’s circular debt issue.
During the day, the index moved in a wide range of 1,746.68 points, hitting an intraday high of 147,005.17 points—up 1,622.38 points—and touching a low of 145,258.49 points, down 124.30 points from the previous close. The total traded volume for the KSE-100 stood at 299.28 million shares, reflecting continued investor participation.
Market sentiment was largely upbeat, driven by gains in key sectors including commercial banking, oil and gas exploration, and cement. Analysts noted that progress on the energy sector’s circular debt resolution could further accelerate the rally, while also cautioning that some consolidation or a mild correction may occur in the short term. Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, highlighted that in case of a pullback, the first support level lies at 145,000 points, followed by 143,000 points, whereas 150,000 points remains the next major resistance level.
Out of the 100 companies included in the index, 62 closed in positive territory, 37 ended in the red, and one remained unchanged. The day’s top-performing stocks included THALL (+10.00%), PGLC (+9.78%), MARI (+7.68%), FABL (+6.15%), and HMB (+5.21%). On the downside, the worst performers were BNWM (-4.29%), PSEL (-3.60%), UPFL (-2.75%), GADT (-2.70%), and YOUW (-2.68%).
In terms of index-point contributions, MARI added 383.16 points, BAHL contributed 193.32 points, OGDC gained 143.19 points, MEBL added 120.23 points, and MCB contributed 119.64 points. On the flip side, EFERT, SYS, ENGROH, PSEL, and FFC collectively weighed on the index by a combined 168.92 points.
Sector performance showed that commercial banks led the rally with a contribution of 795.48 points, followed by oil and gas exploration companies (+561.04 points), cement (+112.69 points), automobile parts and accessories (+61.94 points), and power generation and distribution (+37.93 points). However, some sectors lagged, including investment banks/securities companies (-40.91 points), technology and communication (-33.71 points), miscellaneous (-31.17 points), fertilizer (-22.87 points), and glass and ceramics (-21.17 points).
The broader All-Share Index closed at 90,792.98 points, up by 968.38 points or 1.08 percent. Market-wide, total trading volume rose to 611.21 million shares compared to 548.05 million in the previous session, while the traded value stood at Rs44.00 billion, slightly lower by Rs1.48 billion.
Among the most active stocks by volume were LOTCHEM (73.28m shares), STPL (21.15m shares), ICIBL (19.98m shares), KEL (19.62m shares), and WTL (17.57m shares). Other notable movers included HUMNL, PPL, PRL, BOP, and OGDC.
Analysts believe that with strong participation in heavyweight sectors and upcoming corporate earnings announcements, the KSE-100 Index could edge closer to the 150,000 mark in the near term—provided macroeconomic developments remain supportive.