There was no stopping the bulls at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index inking new records to settle at a new all-time high on Monday.
The market opened on a positive trajectory and maintained an upward momentum through much of the session, reaching an intraday high of 183,964.37 before easing slightly towards the end.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 182,408.23, an increase of 3,373.30 points or 1.88%.
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Analysts attribute the buying drive to a list of factors.
“To begin with, the start of the new year has brought renewed buying interest, particularly from funds and institutional investors,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told media.
“Secondly, the latest fertiliser sector numbers have been encouraging, which has helped attract interest in fertiliser stocks and added to overall market sentiment.
“In addition, the market is also factoring in the upcoming monetary policy announcement scheduled for later this month. Following the previous rate cut, there is growing anticipation that the central bank could further reduce the policy rate by up to 50 basis points (bps),” she added.
Meanwhile, Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company, also attributed the rally to expectations of an interest rate cut.
The first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year is scheduled on 26 January 2026.
During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market extended its strong upward trajectory with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing at a fresh all-time high, as easing inflationary pressures, strong sectoral performance, and heightened investor participation reinforced bullish sentiment.
The KSE-100 Index surged by 6,634 points, registering a week-on-week increase of 3.8%, to settle at 179,035 points, compared to 172,401 points in the preceding week.
Internationally, Asian stocks climbed, and oil prices were choppy on Monday as investors considered the implications of US military action in Venezuela to prepare for a packed week of economic data releases in the first full trading week of the year.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.2%, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were 0.1% higher.
Investors are assessing the repercussions of a dramatic weekend of events, which saw the US capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was putting Venezuela under temporary American control.
Among regional share markets, the Nikkei 225 soared 2.8% to near a record high reached two months ago. Japanese stocks extended gains as data showed manufacturing activity stabilised in December, ending a five-month streak of deterioration.
Seoul’s Kospi and Taiwan climbed more than 2% apiece to hit fresh record highs.
Markets in China were more muted, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.1%, dragged down by Chinese oil companies as a gauge of Hong Kong-listed energy stocks fell 3.1%. Australian shares were up 0.1%.
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