On Monday, Pakistan’s stock market made history by reaching a milestone. The main KSE-100 index climbed above 73,000 points for the first time ever during trading hours. It reached 73,146.12 points, showing an increase of 403.38 points, or 0.55%, from the previous close of 72,742.75 points. The picture accompanying this news shows the KSE-100 graph at 9:49 am, taken from the PSX website.
According to Muhammad Saad Ali, Director of Research at Intermarket Securities and a CFA, the market’s positive trend is due to expectations of a possible interest rate cut of up to 100 basis points in today’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Additionally, there’s optimism about future talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new program.
Last Friday, the stock market came close to the 73,000 points mark. Late buying in the session led to a 1% increase, as observed by dealers. The KSE-100 index rose by 771.35 points or 1.07%, closing at 72,742.75 points on Friday.
Muhammad Rizwan, an analyst at Chase Securities, noted that despite some ups and downs during the session, the market bounced back strongly, setting a new record high.
This impressive performance was supported by significant contributions from various sectors: Fertilizer stocks added 386 points, Commercial banks contributed 174 points, the Power sector provided 112 points, and Cement stocks added 93 points. Together, these contributions reversed the previous negative trend and boosted market confidence.