New record at PSX: KSE-100 settles above 136,500 level

Buying momentum continued unabated at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 136,000 level, a new record high, during trading on Monday.

Positivity persisted throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intraday high of 136,841.49.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 136,502.53, a gain of 2,202.77 points or 1.64%.

“The rally was fueled by strong participation from local mutual funds and institutional investors,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Banking sector heavyweights led the momentum, with UBL, HBL, FFC, BAHL, and MCB collectively contributing 1,443 points to the benchmark index.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rejoiced over PSX’s performance, saying that the development echoes the business community’s confidence in the Pakistani economy.

As per a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the prime minister added that positive economic indicators are a sign of the right direction of government policies.

Meanwhile, analysts also attributed the bullish run to improved economic indicators, including record remittances collected during the last fiscal year.

“Result season has also kicked off, so that too needs to be closely monitored,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told Business Recorder.

During the previous week, the PSX extended its bullish momentum, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing at a fresh all-time high of 134,299.77 points, after gaining a robust 2,351 points or 1.8% on a week-on-week (WoW) basis.

This marks another milestone in the local equity market’s remarkable run, which has been fuelled by improving macroeconomic fundamentals, sustained foreign inflows, and strong institutional participation.

Internationally, Wall Street and European share futures pulled Asian indices lower on Monday as the latest salvo of threats in the US tariff wars kept investors on edge. However, there were still hopes it was mainly bluster by President Donald Trump.

Trump on Saturday said he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, even as they are locked in long negotiations.

The European Union said it would extend a suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement, though Germany’s finance minister called for firm action if the levies went ahead.

Investors have become largely inured to Trump’s chaotic policy methods, and stocks eased only moderately, while the dollar gained little against the euro.

For now, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, while Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.3%.

Chinese blue chips firmed 0.3% as data showed annual export growth topped forecasts at 5.8% in June, even as exports to the US fell almost 10%. Figures on retail sales, industrial output and gross domestic product are out on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pakistani rupee declined further against the US dollar, depreciating 0.09% in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the currency settled at 284.72, a loss of Re0.26.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 841.46 million from 765.08 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares decreased to Rs37.05 billion from Rs40.16 billion in the previous session.

Cres.Star Ins. was the volume leader with 47.21 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 42.84 million shares, and First Dawood Prop with 35.58 million shares.

Shares of 475 companies were traded on Monday, of which 264 registered an increase, 195 recorded a fall, while 16 remained unchanged.