The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bullish trend this week, as the KSE-100 index touched an all-time high of 59,086 points on Friday, registering a 3.55% increase from the previous week.
The KSE-100 index closed at 59,086.35 points on Friday, with a marginal increase of 0.32% from the previous day. The total volume of the index was 289.17 million shares.
The Pakistani rupee (PKR) also appreciated by 1.13 rupees against the US dollar this week and closed at PKR 285.37, marking the second consecutive weekly gain.
The market sentiment was boosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s preliminary approval for the release of the next loan tranche of around $700 million under the current $3 billion program. The loan will help Pakistan improve its balance of payments and fiscal position.
The current account deficit also narrowed to $74 million in October, a 91% decline from the same month last year, indicating a lower demand for dollars in the market. The foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 7% to $525 million during the first four months of the fiscal year, adding to the foreign exchange reserves.
The IT export remittances increased by 4.4% to $893 million in July-October, while the total borrowing fell by $0.41 million to $3.85 billion. The international oil prices (Brent Crude) fluctuated during the week, falling to $78.93 per barrel on Wednesday and recovering to $81.42 per barrel on Friday.
The market participation witnessed a decline, with an average traded volume of 657 million shares, marking an 8.9% decrease from the previous week’s average of 721.3 million shares.
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