Strong buying momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) during the final session of the week, with the benchmark KSE-100 closing at a new all-time high amid improved investor sentiment on Friday.
Positive sentiment prevailed throughout the trading session, pushing the index to an intra-day high of 172,582.95.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 172,400.73, an increase of 1,570.51 points or 0.92%.
On Wednesday, PSX settled on a subdued note as cautious investor sentiment during the roll-over week led to selective selling in heavyweight stocks, dragging key indices into negative territory despite an improvement in overall trading activity. The KSE-100 Index declined by 243.51 points, or 0.14%, to settle at 170,830.22 points.
The market was closed on Thursday, 25 December, on account of a public holiday.
KSE-100 Index increased 0.58% on week-on-week basis.
“This gain can be accredited to successful privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines… Apart from it cut in policy rate by SBP last week by 50 bps to 10.5%, continued to garner investor interest in the market,” brokerage house Topline Securities said.
“In other major events in T-Bill auction held during the week government raised Rs883 billion against a target of Rs600 billion and maturity of Rs471 billion, where yields declined in the range of 36bps to 72bps.”
Internationally, Asian stocks rose to their highest in six weeks on Friday, and a blistering rally in precious metals showed no signs of tempering as investors sought to close out the year on a high, while a softer yen kept intervention risk in the fray.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and most of Europe are closed on Friday, with liquidity expected to be thin. Still, investors are attempting a year-end rally, with risk appetite perking up this week.
Japan’s Topix climbed to a record high and was last up 0.5%. South Korea’s benchmark index rose 0.6%, taking its annual gain to 72% and making it the best-performing major stock market in the world this year.
China’s blue-chip stock index was 0.27% higher, on pace to clock an 18% gain for the year, its strongest annual surge since 2020.
That pushed MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares to its highest level since November 14. The index was last up 0.4% and has gained 25% so far.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.17, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 797.99 million from 811.56 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs38.06 billion from Rs29.79 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 79.32 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 78.05 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 33.06 million shares.
Shares of 482 companies were traded on Friday, of which 221 registered an increase, 229 recorded a fall, and 32 remained unchanged.
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