New record at PSX: KSE-100 settles above 138,600 level

Buying momentum persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 138,000 level, a new record high, during trading on Thursday.

Positivity persisted throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intraday high of 138,943.47.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 138,665.49, a gain of 2,285.53 points or 1.68%.

“The rally was driven by heavy institutional flows, with local investors stepping in to scoop up value, reigniting market momentum,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Fertilizer stocks stole the spotlight, with FFC and EFERT planting strong gains and jointly contributing 563 points to the index. Not far behind on the leaderboard were UBL, SYS, ENGROH, and HUBC, collectively adding 763 points, showcasing strength across multiple blue-chip names, Topline said.

On Wednesday, the PSX maintained its upward momentum as investors engaged in select profit-taking, while maintaining interest in key growth sectors. The KSE-100 Index advanced by 440 points or 0.32% to settle at 136,380 points.

Globally, Asian stocks dithered on Thursday ahead of earnings from heavyweight technology companies and as market anxiety lingered over the uncertain tenure of Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.

TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a jump in second-quarter profit to record levels, though US tariffs and a strong Taiwan dollar could weigh on its outlook.

Profits for streaming giant Netflix, due later on Thursday, are also on investors’ radar.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up just 0.06% and the Nikkei slipped 0.24%.

European futures jumped as EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.56% and FTSE and DAX futures added about 0.4% each.

Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% each.

Also dominating the market mood was confusion over Fed Chair Powell’s future at the central bank, after initial news that US President Donald Trump was likely to fire Powell soon sent stocks and the dollar sliding.

Trump quickly denied the reports, restoring some calm to volatile markets, but he kept the door open to the possibility and renewed his criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 284.97, a loss of Re0.01.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 780.01 million from 705.95 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs39.97 billion from Rs32.18 billion in the previous session.

Pak Int.Bulk was the volume leader with 82.66 million shares, followed by First Dawood Prop with 42.48 million shares, and Ghani Chemworld with 26.02 million shares.

Shares of 486 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 306 registered an increase, 154 recorded a fall, while 26 remained unchanged.