Stocks kicked off the final week of the year with a bang, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 174,000 level during the opening hours of Monday’s session.
Strong momentum was observed during the day, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 174,411.72.
At 11:30am, the benchmark index was hovering at 173,669.86, an increase of 1,269.13 points or 0.74%.
Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MEBL and MCB, traded in the green.
PSX is expected to remain the best-performing asset class in 2026, supported by improving macroeconomic stability, easing inflationary pressures, and sustained domestic liquidity, according to Arif Habib Limited’s report titled “Pakistan Investment Strategy 2026: The Equity Edge Continues.”
“Since January 2025, the PSX has delivered 50%+ returns in US dollar terms, making it one of the best markets in Asia, with 2025 being another year of strong gains for investors,” said Advisor to Finance Minister, Khurram Schehzad.
“Investor participation is rising fast – the equity investor base has crossed 450,000, up 120,000+ investors (+37%) in 18 months.
“These record levels reflect growing investor confidence, supported by continued macro stability, key reforms, and improving prospects for more sustainable, higher future growth,” he added.
During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market closed on a historic note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index extending its record-breaking rally to settle at 172,400.73 points, marking a week-on-week increase of 0.6%, underscoring sustained upward momentum as the market wrapped up the year-end phase at an all-time high.
Internationally, Asian stocks were at six-week highs on Monday, while the dollar hovered near its lowest in almost three months on expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates next year, which have also sparked a fierce rally in precious metals.
Geopolitics was back on investors’ minds after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares was 0.27% higher, hitting its highest since October 3 in a strong start to the last week of the year. The index has risen over 25% this year, boosted by technology stocks as AI mania firmly took hold of investors.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.5% to a near two-month peak, taking its yearly gains to an eye-popping 74%, on pace for its strongest annual gain since 1999.
Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.4%, while Taiwan stocks rose 0.3% to a record high.
This is an intra-day update
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