Rally continues, KSE-100 settles above 168,000 level

Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 closing above the 168,000 level on Monday.

After an early dip, equities staged a swift recovery as investor sentiment steadied and volumes picked up throughout the first trading session of December.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 168,062.19, an increase of 1,384.50 points or 0.83%.

“Market sentiment stayed upbeat, bolstered by institutional buying as reflected in yesterday’s NCCPL [National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited] data,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Major contributors to the rally included key index heavyweights — HUBC, OGDC, LUCK, MARI, and MCB — which together added roughly 622 points to the benchmark’s overall rise, it added.

Pakistan’s headline inflation clocked in at 6.1% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in November 2025, showed Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data on Monday, a reading higher than the Ministry of Finance estimate of 5-6%.

The PSX ended the previous week on a strong upward trajectory, with the KSE-100 Index closing at 166,677.70, gaining 4,574.78 points, or 2.8% percent week-on-week. The rally remained broad-based, supported by gains in major sectors including fertiliser, banks, technology & communication, cement, and exploration & production, reflecting improved market sentiment.

Globally, Asian stocks made a steady start on Monday to the final month of 2025 as US rate-cut optimism lifted risk sentiment ahead of economic data, while the yen firmed, with investors weighing the prospect of a near-term rate hike.

The spotlight in the currency market has been on the Japanese yen, which strengthened to 155.64 per US dollar as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda took the stage in Nagoya, Japan, with investors parsing his comments for cues on the timing of the next hike.

Ueda said in a speech to business leaders that the central bank will consider the “pros and cons” of raising interest rates at its next policy meeting in December.

In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was steady at 703.19, having gained 23.5% so far this year and on course for its best annual gain since 2017. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3% in early trading.

US stock futures, though, were lower in Asian hours, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose over 1% pushing Asian stocks higher.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee saw marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.51, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 735.52 million from 592.75 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs46.19 billion from Rs41.97 billion in the previous session.

F. Nat.Equities was the volume leader with 70.03 million shares, followed by Beco Steel Ltd with 42.56 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 41.72 million shares.

Shares of 484 companies were traded on Monday, of which 278 registered an increase, 162 recorded a fall, and 44 remained unchanged.