Intra-day update: KSE-100 hovers close to 79,000 with 0.7% gain

Bullish sentiment prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained over 700 points during the opening hours of the first trading session of the new fiscal year FY24-25 on Monday.

At 11am, the benchmark index was hovering at 79,146.24 level, an increase of 701.28 points or 0.89%.

However, it retreated to below the 79,000 level later in the session.

Across-the-board buying was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery.

Index-heavy stocks including PSO, SHEL, SNGPL, SSGC, POL, HBL, MCB and MEBL traded in green.

The buying comes as market participants remain optimistic that authorities in Islamabad would reach a staff-level-agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the coming days.

In a key development, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday expressed optimism that Pakistan would secure a “larger and longer” bailout agreement in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July, following the approval of the $67.76 billion federal budget.

Pakistan began discussions about a new loan with IMF officials soon after completing a $3 billion program that helped the country stave off a sovereign debt default last year.

The PSX emerged as the best performing equity market in the world during fiscal year 2023-24 after its benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the final session at 78,444.96 on Friday, compared to 41,452.69 in the previous fiscal.

Globally, Asian stocks were subdued on Monday as traders pondered the U.S rates outlook, while the euro rose after the first-round voting in France’s shock snap election was won by the far-right, albeit with a smaller share than some polls had projected.

The shock vote has unsettled markets as the far-right, as well as the left-wing alliance that came second on Sunday, have pledged big spending increases at a time when France’s high budget deficit has prompted the EU to recommend disciplinary steps.

In Asia, the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.07% higher, to kick off the second half of the year having risen 7% so far in 2024. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.57%.