Stock market records broken at the PSX, with the KSE-100 index surpassing 138,000 mark
In a significant development, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed the 138,000 level for the first time during trading on Thursday, marking a historic high for the country's equity markets. This bullish session was driven by strong investor confidence, favorable economic signals, and widespread sectoral participation.
The rally was fueled by heavy buying in crucial sectors including energy, oil & gas exploration, oil marketing, power generation, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, cement, auto, and banking sectors. Energy stocks, particularly oil and gas exploration and refining, showed robust performance, significantly pushing the index upward.
Market participants were hopeful about a potential monetary policy rate cut anticipated in the policy announcement scheduled for July 28, which boosted buying sentiment. Institutional investors showed deep interest, supported by a generally positive economic outlook, including low inflation (3.2% YoY) and government efforts towards privatization of state-owned enterprises, which enhanced market confidence.
With lower yields on fixed income instruments and consistent inflows from mutual funds, investors increasingly preferred equities, contributing to higher volumes and values traded on the exchange. The index rose steadily with multiple milestones during the day—initially gaining 300 points, then surging by over 1,700 points to close at a record 138,133 (or 138,665 in some reports) points.
Key sectors and index-heavy stocks such as the energy sector, banking heavyweights like United Bank and National Bank, and sectors like fertilizer, pharmaceutical, cement, and auto also participated actively in the rally, reflecting broad-based market strength.
Elsewhere, global markets showed mixed signals. TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a jump in second-quarter profit to record levels. However, uncertainty persists over the future of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, causing some volatility in US markets. European futures are rising, but Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures are down 0.1% each. Asian stocks showed uncertainty ahead of earnings from heavyweight technology companies, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.06%, while the Nikkei is down 0.24%.
In Pakistan, the benchmark index stood at 138,521.57 level, an increase of 2,141.61 points or 1.57% at 1:55pm. The milestone crossing was a result of strong investor confidence linked to expected policy easing, favorable economic signals, and widespread sectoral participation, culminated in a record-breaking bullish session for Pakistan’s equity markets.
- The rally in Pakistan's equity markets, as seen on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), was fueled by strong interest in stocks from sectors such as energy, banking, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, cement, auto, and oil & gas exploration.
- The performance of energy stocks, particularly oil and gas exploration and refining, was robust, significantly pushing the index upward during the bullish session.
- Institutional investors showed deep interest in Pakistan's equity markets, supported by a generally positive economic outlook, including low inflation (3.2% YoY) and government efforts towards privatization of state-owned enterprises.
- With lower yields on fixed income instruments and consistent inflows from mutual funds, investors increasingly preferred equities, contributing to higher volumes and values traded on the exchange.
- Key index-heavy stocks like United Bank, National Bank, and sectors such as fertilizer, pharmaceutical, cement, and auto also participated actively in the rally, reflecting broad-based market strength.
- Meanwhile, global markets showed mixed signals, with European futures rising, but Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures down 0.1% each. However, TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a jump in second-quarter profit to record levels.
