New high at PSX: KSE-100 crosses 58,000 level after 827-point gain

Driven by improved market sentiment, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its upward trajectory as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 58,000 level for the first time in history on Wednesday.

At close, the KSE-100 settled at 58,198.76, up by 827.17 points or 1.44%.

Earlier at 2:25pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 58,349.56 level, an increase of 977.98 points or 1.70%, which was followed by some profit-taking before the end of the session.

Across-the-board buying was witnessed, with index-heavy sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs trading in the green.

On Tuesday, the benchmark index had gained 294 points or 0.51% to settle at 57,371.59.

The ongoing bullish trend comes amid the country’s improved economic indicators and the interim government’s successful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first review, which will unlock $700 million in funding.

Analysts expect that after the review Pakistan will be able to attract further inflows from its other multilateral and bilateral partners.

“One of the fastest but not unexpected recovery at PSX,” said Mohammed Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, in a post on social media platform X.

The expert shared that the bourse has delivered a 50% return in USD terms in six months.

“And the good thing is… This recovery has just started. Market PE [price to earning ratio] of 3-4 times still at an unbelievably low levels,” he added.

Convening a meeting of the Donor Coordination Committee (DCC) at the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Tuesday, caretaker finance minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar reported positive signs of economic recovery, expecting GDP growth between 2 to 2.5% in the fiscal year 2024.

She highlighted that despite external factors impacting Pakistan’s economy, including tightening global financial conditions and rising commodity prices, the successful review of the IMF staff-level agreement was a significant achievement.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continued its positive run against the US dollar for the fifth consecutive session as it appreciated 0.23% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency settled at 285.13, an increase of Re0.66.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 596.2 million from 1,012.2 million a session before.

On the other hand, the value of shares increased to Rs22 billion from Rs19.3 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 50.3 million shares, followed by Fauji Fert Bin with 23.2 million shares and Fauji Foods Ltd with 20.1 million shares.

Shares of 389 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 236 registered an increase, 136 recorded a fall, while 17 remained unchanged.