KSE-100 gains another 919 points as index now eyes 61,000 level

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) registered new records on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 60,000-point level for the first time in history.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 60,730.26, up by 918.92 points or 1.54%.

Heavy buying was witnessed in banks, construction, and energy sectors.

“Bullish rampage continued at Pakistan equities and it seems like there is no hurdle, psychological or technical resistance level, which can take the bulls by the horns,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

On Monday, the bourse continued had set records as well as the benchmark index gained another 1.23% to settle at 59,811.34, up by 724.99 points.

“It’s only the break between the closing & opening bells (of the next day) where bulls take some rest. That’s exactly what happened today. Bulls started to rule every nook & corner at PSX just after the opening bell rang. Investor resumed their shopping and did cherry picking of banking, energy, cement & fertiliser stocks,” the brokerage house added.

The buying spree comes on the back of a staff-level agreement reached between Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review under the nine-month $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

The government believes the IMF’s executive board will give its approval in December, after which Pakistan will receive the second tranche of the SBA.

The funding would also pave way for inflows from other multilateral and bilateral partners.

“Pakistan’s KSE-100 index has gained 50% in only 5 months,” said Mohammed Sohail, CEO at Topline Securities, in a post.

“From 40k to 60k. This is the fastest 50% rise in few months after 2004.”

Sohail said that amid “unbelievable low valuation (PE 3-4), such recovery is not at all surprising”.

“The ongoing positive trend at the bourse reflects the investors’ growing confidence as the equities market is a leading indicator,” Sana Tawfik of Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told Business Recorder.

Tawfik was of the view that the bullish momentum is expected to continue after disbursement of funds from the IMF.

“Moreover, there are talks of an interest rate cut, which will be another positive as it will improve the liquidity position,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a slight gain against the US dollar as it appreciated 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency settled at 285.52, an increase of Re0.12.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 779.6 million from 657.5 million a session before.

The value of shares rose to Rs26.1 billion from Rs20.2 billion in the previous session.

Kohinoor Spinning remained the volume leader with 79.2 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 57.4 million shares and B.O.Punjab with 44.3 million shares.

Shares of 392 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 177 registered an increase, 200 recorded a fall, while 15 remained unchanged.