The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a significant rally on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising over 1,000 points and closing above the 115,000 mark. The market remained bullish throughout the trading session, reaching an intra-day high of 115,247.39 before settling at 115,094.23, marking a gain of 1,009.70 points or 0.89%.
The strong performance was fueled by buying activity in several key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refineries. High-weightage stocks in the index, such as MARI, OGDC, PPL, HUBCO, ARL, PSO, SSGC, and SNGPL, all closed in the green, contributing to the overall rise of the index.
Market experts attributed the buying momentum to positive developments related to Pakistan’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Specifically, the agreement between the IMF and the Pakistani government on a circular debt settlement plan sparked investor interest in key stocks like PSO and SNGPL. According to Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, this agreement had a positive impact on market sentiment, leading to significant gains in energy sector stocks. Additionally, cement sector stocks saw a boost amid reports of an increase in cement prices by Rs50 per bag, which contributed to the rally in the sector.
The KSE-100 Index had closed marginally lower the previous day, finishing at 114,084.54, after failing to sustain intra-day gains. However, Thursday’s market performance indicated a strong recovery, signaling investor confidence in the wake of favorable market developments.
In another notable development, global rating agency Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s banking outlook from stable to positive. This upgrade, announced on Wednesday, was seen as a significant vote of confidence in Pakistan’s banking sector and added further optimism to the overall market sentiment.
On the global front, tech stocks led the advances in Asia on Thursday, taking cues from Wall Street’s gains following tepid inflation data that alleviated concerns over the U.S. economy. U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated as tensions continued to rise between the United States and its trading partners, with tariff battles adding to market volatility. Despite these challenges, the Euro remained steady, bolstered by signs of progress in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The positive global market sentiment also translated into gains across major Asian stock indices. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.9%, buoyed by gains in semiconductor heavyweights like Advantest and Tokyo Electron. Other Asian markets also showed positive movement, with Taiwan’s tech-heavy equities index rising by 0.6%, South Korea’s KOSPI climbing 0.7%, and Mainland China’s blue-chip stocks edging up by 0.1%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index experienced a slight retreat, falling by 0.3%.
Back in Pakistan, the trading volume on the all-share index increased to 382.79 million shares, up from 299.63 million in the previous session. The total value of shares traded also saw an improvement, rising to Rs25.4 billion compared to Rs20.3 billion the day before. B.O. Punjab emerged as the volume leader with 48.8 million shares traded, followed by Barkat Frisian Agro with 24.68 million shares and Fauji Cement with 19.66 million shares.
In total, shares of 444 companies were traded on Thursday, with 232 companies registering gains, 156 experiencing declines, and 56 remaining unchanged. The positive market momentum observed on Thursday provides a hopeful outlook for the coming sessions, suggesting that investor sentiment is poised to remain favorable, provided macroeconomic conditions continue to improve.
This rally in the PSX reflects not only the positive impact of IMF developments and local market conditions but also highlights the broader regional trends that continue to influence investor sentiment. As the global and local economic landscape continues to evolve, the performance of the PSX will remain closely watched by market participants.