The buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 closing with a gain of over 570 points on Monday.
Positive momentum prevailed throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 116,276.42.
At close, the index settled at 115,844.81, an increase of 572.73 points or 0.5%.
“This upward momentum was fuelled by strengthened investor confidence, bolstered by political stability that eased prevailing uncertainties,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“Additionally, anticipation of a potential rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, scheduled for January 27, 2025, further amplified positive market sentiment, driving broad-based optimism across key sectors.”
Key contributors to the day’s gains included ENGROH, FFC, MEBL, SEARL, and MLCF, which collectively added 449 points to the index. On the other hand, losses in MARI, PPL, SYS, PSO, and BAFL pared gains by 182 points, Topline report stated.
“The uptrend may continue, but politics will be key to guide market direction in the short term,” another brokerage house said Intermarket Securities in a note.
“The new US administration will take office from Monday; our market will keenly watch for any sympathetic views towards Imran Khan. Upcoming MPC may deliver a moderate 100bps rate cut, which will not excite the market, in our view; a smaller cut, however, will be taken negatively,” it added.
During the previous week, the PSX witnessed a positive trend and recorded healthy gains on the back of fresh buying mainly from local investors coupled with institutional support.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 2,024.79 points on a week-on-week basis and closed at 115,272.08 points.
Internationally, the US dollar was firm and Asia’s stock markets were cautiously positive on Monday as investors waited for an expected flurry of policy announcements in the first hours of Donald Trump’s second presidency and eyed a rate hike in Japan at the end of the week.
Trump takes the oath of office at noon Eastern Time, and promised a “brand new day of American strength” at a rally on Sunday.
He has stoked expectations that he will issue a slew of executive orders right away and, in a reminder of his unpredictability, launched a digital token on Friday. The token soared to trade above $70 at one point, with a total market value north of $15 billion.
Monday is a US holiday, so the first responses to his inauguration in traditional financial markets may be felt in foreign exchange, where traders are focused on Trump’s tariff policies, and then in Asian trade on Tuesday.
US equity futures were a fraction weaker on Monday morning in Asia, while the dollar, which has rallied since September on strong U.S. data, and Trump’s ultimately successful political campaign gained momentum, held steady.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1%.
Last week, the S&P 500 notched its biggest weekly percentage gain since early November, and the Nasdaq its largest since early December, fueled by benign inflation data.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 675.05 million from 549.58 million on Friday.
The value of shares rose to Rs37.53 billion from Rs35.93 billion in the previous session.
Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 59.47 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 57.80 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 56.89 million shares.
Shares of 454 companies were traded on Monday, of which 241 registered an increase, 157 recorded a fall, while 56 remained unchanged.
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