The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its bullish momentum on Friday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 55,000 level for the first time in history.
At 11:50 am, the index gained 1090 points or 2.01 % to reach 55,351.47 points. The benchmark index has witnessed a trading volume of over 27.027 million shares.
The KSE-100 index was supported by oil & gas exploration companies with 284.95, commercial banks with 161.15, fertilizer with 123.7, cement with 103.28, and power generation & distribution with 84.14 points.
The top contributors to the index were OGDC with 98.67, HUBC with 84.56, ENGRO with 72.01, PPL with 67.51, and LUCK with 66.6 points.
The All-Share index also broke its all-time high, reaching at 36,715.71 with a net gain of 569.06 points.
The rally was driven by positive sentiments across various sectors, including automobile, cement, chemical, fertilizer, power, refinery, oil and gas exploration and marketing.
The investors were also encouraged by the improved macroeconomic indicators, such as the decline in current account deficit and inflation.
One of the main factors that boosted the market was the result of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) auction, which showed a significant fall in bond yields. This signaled that the market was expecting a rate cut by the central bank in the near future.
The PSX has been on a rising trend since the start of the year, gaining over 18% in 2023. The market has also witnessed record activity, with the highest ever trading volume of 2.8 billion shares on Wednesday.
The PSX has become one of the best performing markets in the region, attracting both local and foreign investors. The market capitalization has reached $86 billion, making it the 40th largest stock exchange in the world.
