The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the week on a positive note as its benchmark KSE-100 Index gained nearly 1,000 points amid a buying spree on Monday.
The KSE-100 saw some selling in the first few hours, hitting an intra-day low of 113,083.86.
However, a strong buying spree in the latter hours took the index to an intra-day high of 114,496.09.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 114,230.06, an increase of 982.77 points or 0.87%.
“The rally was fueled by strong buying across sectors, underpinned by optimism over economic indicators and expectations of improved December quarter earnings,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“Notably, blue-chip stocks and high-volume sectors witnessed heightened investor activity following last week’s market pullback,” it added.
GAL from the auto sector continued its upward trajectory, closing at its upper circuit, driven by the successful launch of the new pickup truck, ‘JAC T9 Hunter’, which garnered significant attention from investors, according to Topline.
“EngroH contributed negatively by up to 275 points to the KSE-100 as shares were transferred to investors today following the merger.”
Key contributors to the upward trajectory included MARI, MTL, UBL, SRVI, and FFC, collectively adding 620 points, the report stated.
“Market will look forward to the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in which consensus expectations should be for a 100bps cut to a policy rate of 12% and a potential conclusion of the easing cycle in the near term,” said brokerage house Intermarket Securities in a note on Monday.
“Results season should start soon as well, where bank payouts may lift investor mood; however, results from cyclical sectors may not impress much,” it added.
During the previous week, the PSX remained under selling pressure and closed in deep red with heavy losses as the investors opted to offload their holdings on available margins. The benchmark KSE-100 plunged by 4,339.69 points on a week-on-week basis and closed at 113,247.29 points.
Globally, Asian shares slipped on Monday while the dollar held near 14-month peaks after an unambiguously strong payrolls report shoved up bond yields and tested lofty equity valuations just as the earnings season gets underway.
Markets have already scaled back expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts to just 27 basis points for all of 2025, with the terminal level now seen around 4.0% compared to the 3.0% many had hoped for this time last year.
At least five Fed officials are on the docket to speak this week and offer their reaction to the jobs surprise, with the influential Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams appearing on Wednesday.
The hawkish turn-on rates lifted yields on 10-year Treasuries to 14-month peaks of 4.79%, and they were last trading at 4.764% in Asia.
A holiday in Japan made for thin early trading on Monday and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.4%. While the Nikkei,was shut, futures traded down at 38,770 compared to a cash close of 39,190.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee saw a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the currency settled at 278.68 after a loss of Re0.10 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 521.21 million from 499.85 million on Friday.
The value of shares rose to Rs28.29 billion from Rs24.83 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 70.13 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 39.60 million shares, and Sui South Gas with 31.10 million shares.
Shares of 449 companies were traded on Monday, of which 280 registered an increase, 116 recorded a fall, while 53 remained unchanged.
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