Bulls made a strong return to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging by 934 points, closing above the 50,000 level for the first time in six years. The last time the KSE-100 closed above the 50,000 mark was on May 31, 2017.
The market witnessed robust buying across various sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies (OMCs), all trading in the green.
The positive trend follows a slight dip in the KSE-100 Index on the previous day, where it closed nearly 100 points lower at 49,431.48 points, as investors opted to book profits in a somewhat volatile session.
Several factors contributed to the recent market surge. One key element was the strengthening of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, which was observed trading at around 278 levels in the interbank market. This currency appreciation played a role in boosting investor confidence.
Furthermore, experts attributed the market gains to the satisfactory financial results reported by companies for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. These positive earnings reports have encouraged investors and contributed to the upbeat sentiment.
Notably, Pakistan’s trade deficit for the month of September saw a significant improvement, standing at $1.518 billion compared to a deficit of $2.856 billion in the same month the previous year. This marks a nearly 47 percent year-on-year improvement, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
