The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reached a new milestone on Thursday, surging more than 2,700 points and surpassing the 107,000 mark, driven by positive macroeconomic indicators.
The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 2,727.42 points, or 2.59%, rising to 107,831.75 points from the previous close of 105,448.05 points around 2:40 pm.
This rally follows Pakistan’s annual inflation rate dropping to 4.9% in November, the lowest level since 2017, and a week after the PSX first surpassed the 100,000 mark. The country’s trade deficit also narrowed by 19% year-over-year to $1.59 billion, fueling expectations of a robust current account surplus and boosting market confidence.
Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, told Dawn.com: “The primary driver behind the 68% rally in the index this calendar year has been the continued aggressive buying by mutual funds, especially in the latter half.”
He also noted that the rally was fueled by “declining fixed-income yields amid a stable macroeconomic environment.”
As the PSX maintained its upward momentum on Wednesday, analysts pointed to investor optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting on Dec 16. They also highlighted signs of economic recovery, such as a rebound in cement sales and a surge in petroleum sales, which further boosted investor confidence.
Earlier this week, Topline Securities Ltd reported that the trade value in the ready market reached Rs57 billion ($203 million), the highest in 18 years.
