Bulls make a strong return to the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the historic mark of 97,000 during intraday trading on Thursday.
According to the PSX website, the market opened with a bearish trend and KSE-100 dropped nearly 250 points in the early hours. However, buying momentum returned to the market which tossed the benchmark index to its highest level of 97,207.06 for the first time in history.
The buying spree was attributed to easing investor concerns over the political protest planned for November 24.
Buying activity was noted in sectors such as commercial banks, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, automobile assemblers, and refineries. Stocks like NRL, HASCOL, PSO, EFERT, HBL, and NBP showed positive trading trends.
At 01:51 pm, the market was hovering at 97,207.06 points, up by 1660.61 points or 1.74% from the previous close of 95,546.45 points.
On Wednesday, the PSX closed its volatile trading session on a negative note, with the benchmark KSE-100 index declining by 310.21 points, or 0.32%, to settle at 95,546.45.
The PSX has been on a winning streak for some weeks mainly supported by increased investor confidence and improved economic indicators. Last week, the stock market gained 1.6% WoW, closing at a record high of 94,763 points.
According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Pakistan’s stocks are expected to advance by more than a quarter by the end of next year 2025 as the nation’s economy shows improvement under a loan program with the IMF and the currency stabilizes.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index is forecast to increase to 127,000 points by December 2025, or a 34% rise, from the 94,704 points it closed last Friday, according to Topline Securities Ltd. in a report announced on November 16, Arif Habib Ltd. targets the index to reach 120,000 points, a gain of 27%.
“The stage is set for a potential market re-rating with declining interest rates, a stable rupee, and improving macroeconomic indicators,” Karachi-based brokerage Arif Habib commented in a report.
