The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward momentum on Friday, with the KSE-100 Index closing higher by 685.52 points, or 0.6%, at 114,398.69.
Investor sentiment remained positive throughout the session, pushing the index to an intra-day high of 114,721.58. Buying was observed in key sectors, including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, power generation, and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as ARL, NRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, and NBP traded in the green.
The rally was fuelled by expectations of a policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Monday. A poll of analysts, conducted by a private newspaper, indicated a median expectation of a 50bps cut, with only one analyst forecasting no change.
Additionally, reports suggesting that the government plans to borrow Rs1.25 trillion from the banking sector to retire circular debt further strengthened market sentiment.
On Thursday, the KSE-100 Index had surged over 1,450 points, driven by institutional buying and rate cut expectations.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee depreciated by 0.05% against the US dollar, closing at 279.97 in the inter-bank market, a loss of Re0.15.
Market participation increased, with trading volume rising to 404.36 million shares from 373.09 million in the previous session, while the traded value climbed to Rs27.84 billion from Rs26.25 billion.
Fauji Cement led the volume charts with 57.22 million shares traded, followed by Sui Southern Gas (23.76 million) and Maple Leaf Cement (22.47 million). Of the 433 companies traded, 219 closed higher, 151 declined, and 63 remained unchanged.
