The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) achieved another milestone on Thursday, surpassing 107,000 points with a gain of over 2,500 points. Analysts credited the rally to improving macroeconomic indicators.
The KSE-100 index rose by 2,577.71 points, or 2.45%, reaching 107,682.04 from its previous close of 105,448.05 at 2:50 pm.
This surge follows a drop in Pakistan’s annual inflation rate to 4.9% in November, the lowest since 2017. It also comes a week after the PSX crossed the 100,000 mark for the first time.
The country’s trade deficit narrowed by 19% year-over-year to $1.59 billion, raising expectations of a current account surplus and strengthening market sentiment.
Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, stated, “The 68% index rally this year has been driven primarily by aggressive mutual fund buying, especially in the latter half.” He attributed this to “declining fixed-income yields and a stable macroeconomic environment.”
The bullish momentum continued on Wednesday, as analysts pointed to investor optimism about a potential interest rate cut in the Dec 16 monetary policy meeting. Recovery in economic growth, increased cement sales, and higher petroleum sales also boosted confidence.
Read: KSE-100 Index Soars to 105,473, Record High on Rate Cut Hopes
Earlier this week, Topline Securities Ltd reported that trade value in the ready market reached Rs57 billion ($203m), the highest in 18 years.
