The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) achieved another milestone on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by nearly 1,300 points to close above 104,000, setting a new record high.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 104,559.07 with an increase of 1,284.13 points or 1.24%.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and the refinery sector. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, PSO, SSGC, MARI, OGDC, FFC, ENGRO, MCB and NBP traded in the green.
Experts said the market anticipates a further cut in the key policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its next meeting scheduled for December 16 following the latest inflation reading.
CPI inflation in Pakistan clocked in at 4.9% on a year-on-year basis in November 2024, hitting the lowest level since May 2018, showed Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data on Monday.
The government also expressed optimism that this will lead to further cuts in the key policy rate.
“PSX continues its upward momentum, reaching new milestones, thanks to the falling yields on fixed income and macro stability,” said Topline Securities, in a note.
The brokerage house shared that the traded value in the ready market hit Rs57 billion ($203 million), marking the highest level in 18 years.
On Monday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index continued to scale new peaks, crossing 103,000 to settle at a new all-time high following a gain of over 1,900 points.
Globally, Asian stocks rose on Tuesday led by an outperforming tech sector following record highs on Wall Street overnight, while the dollar hovered near a six-week low to the yen as traders weighed the outlook for interest rates in the United States and Japan.
Investors were also monitoring the political turmoil in France as the government there teetered on the brink of collapse, leaving the euro languishing close to a one-week low.
Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei jumped 1.6% as of 0200 GMT, and South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 1.7%.
Taiwanese shares gained 1.1%. Australia’s stock benchmark rose 0.7% and reached a fresh all-time high.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares added 0.7%.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee recorded a minor increase against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the currency settled at 277.87, a gain of Re0.10 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 1,766.47 million from 1,556.25 million on Monday.
The value of shares rose to Rs56.62 billion from Rs47.10 billion in the previous session.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 246.71 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 89.42 million shares, and Hascol Petrol with 87.02 million shares.
Shares of 465 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 271 registered an increase, 160 recorded a fall, while 34 remained unchanged.
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