Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward rally for the final trading week of the year on a strong footing, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 174,000 mark in early trade on Monday.
According to the PSX website, the benchmark index surged to 174,401.54, with an increase of 2000.81 points as of 09:43 am, as buying interest emerged across key sectors.
At 12:00 pm, the market was hovering at 173,772.98 level, up by 1372.25 points or 0.8% from the previous close of 172,400.73 point.
Gains were seen in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries. Heavyweight stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MEBL and MCB traded higher.
The upbeat opening follows a strong close last week, when the benchmark index settled at a record 172,400.73 points, posting a week-on-week gain of 0.6% and ending the year-end phase at an all-time high.
According to Arif Habib Limited, the PSX is expected to remain the best-performing asset class in 2026, supported by improving macroeconomic stability, easing inflationary pressures and sustained domestic liquidity.
A separate note by Topline Securities showed that both equities and gold delivered strong returns in Pakistan during 2025. Gold prices rose 73% between January 1 and December 24, 2025, increasing from Rs233,711 to Rs405,402 per 10 grams. In the international market, gold climbed from $2,612 per ounce at the end of 2024 to $4,503 per ounce by December 26, 2025.
The KSE-100 Index posted the second-highest return among major asset classes, rising 48% during the same period, inclusive of dividends, with four trading sessions remaining in the year.
Real estate also posted more moderate gains. Returns on savings-linked instruments were lower. Naya Pakistan PKR certificates under the Roshan Digital Account generated a 22% return in 2025, while US dollar certificates yielded 10%. The US dollar itself posted gains of about 1% in both interbank and open markets.
Government securities also posted moderate gains amid monetary easing. Pakistan Investment Bonds returned about 14%, while T-bill investors earned around 12% during 2025, based on reinvestment in actively traded three-month instruments.
Globally, Asian stocks were at six-week highs on Monday, while the dollar hovered near its lowest in almost three months on expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates next year, which has also sparked a fierce rally in precious metals.
Silver climbed above the $80-per-ounce-mark for the first time before sliding sharply lower in volatile trading on Monday, while platinum and palladium also fell sharply after hitting all-time highs. Gold eased nearly 1% but has repeatedly breached record highs this year on dollar weakness, safe-haven demand and rate cut wagers.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares was 0.27% higher, hitting its highest since October 3 in a strong start to the last week of the year. The index has risen over 25% this year, boosted by technology stocks as AI mania firmly took hold of investors.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.5% to a near two-month peak, taking its yearly gains to an eye-popping 74%, on pace for its strongest annual gain since 1999. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.4%, while Taiwan stocks rose 0.3% to a record high.
