The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 hit a fresh peak on Friday as it closed above 75,000 for the first time in history, continuing a buying spree for the seventh consecutive session.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, with the bulls taking charge of the market and maintaining their reign till the end of the day.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 75,342.35, up by 411.65 points or 0.55%.
Buying was witnessed in sectors including oil and gas exploration, fertiliser, refinery, pharmaceuticals, cement, and chemicals.
On Thursday, the KSE-100 closed in the green as it gained 267 points to settle near 75,000, following the buying spree on some positive indicators.
Experts have said that positive indicators such as initiation of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan and expectations for a rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting have contributed to the record highs at the PSX.
In a key development, Pakistan’s current account posted a provisional surplus of $491 million in April 2024 compared to a revised surplus of $434 million in March 2024, revealed data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday.
The central bank a;so granted in-principle approval to Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) to facilitate Bank Asia Limited in conducting due diligence of operations in Bangladesh as the Pakistani entity looks to sell 100% of the assets and liabilities attributable to the Bangladesh operations.
Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) witnessed a further increase as it clocked in at 104.51 in April 2024, up from 104.09 in March 2024.
After the stock market closed, the Ministry of Privatisation announced that it had received Statement of Qualifications from eight entities after the time to submit the expression of interest ended at 4pm on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.07% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.21, a gain of Re0.19 against the greenback, as per the SBP.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 496.7 million from 407.62 million a session ago.
The value of shares rose to Rs17.63 billion from Rs16.98 billion in the previous session.
Kohinoor Spinning was the volume leader with 44.62 million shares, followed by P.I.A.C.(A) with 28.76 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd. with 23.05 million shares.
Shares of 386 companies were traded on Friday, of which 212 registered an increase, 153 recorded a fall, while 21 remained unchanged.
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